Egypt State Information Service

The ancient Egyptians laid down the foundations of environment protection in the world whether by protecting the three sources of environment; water, soil and air, or by protecting the food substances or the inner environment, in addition to preserving the renewable and non renewable natural wealth.

The ancient Egyptians paid special attention to preserving the Nile clean that a doctrine was deeply rooted in every Egyptian that he will not enter paradise if he polluted the Nile. Thus, all Egyptians tried to preserve the water of the Nile from pollution as they knew that the water of the Nile is the secret of their life.

Moreover, the ancient Egyptians depended on natural factors in preserving the agricultural soil from pollution and fertility loss. Many of the Pharaoh's written orders that urge farmers on the necessity of combating pests and protecting the environment from pollution were found written on papyrus.

In this respect, Egypt was one of the first countries that paid special heed to environment problems due to its recognition with the importance of the environment and its impact on the individual who is considered the most important wealth.

In light of the accelerated technological advancements and as a result of the civilized life, many negatives that affect the surrounding environment and that may hinder its development on the long run were found; especially that Egypt shouldered the responsibility of the comprehensive development in which the individual constitutes the basis and foundation.

Thus, the first step was taken since more than 20 years for establishing the Environmental Affairs Authority as a structural building that pays special attention to the environmental affairs so as to cope with the international concerns and to follow-up the latest solutions of the environmental problems that might help us solve our national problems. This took place after holding Stockholm Conference on Environment, June 5, 1972, where a national body was formed to pay special attention to the environmental affairs with the various concerned bodies until the presidential decree No. 631 of 1982 was issued to form an environmental affairs agency subsidiary to the ministers' council.

The main task of the agency was to draw and apply the environmental policies enhanced by the national programme for environmental research and studies, which is subsidiary to the Scientific Research and Technological Academy and the NGOs concerned with the environment.

In 1997, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs (MOEA) was created to monitor and eliminate sources of pollution. To this end, (MOEA) is supported by specialized bodies and NGOs concerned with the environment.

With a view to ensuring environmental protection, a number of important laws and decrees were issued in order to ameliorate Egyptian environment. Salient of these are Law No. 48/1982, known as the Nile Protection Law and Law No. 41/1994 considered to be the most important and comprehensive environmental law in Egypt.

The various economic and industrial activities lead to many pollution problems such as the gas that pollutes the air or the liquid and solid wastes that pollutes the water whether surface, underground or sea water and affect the quality of the soil. Thus, the state Ministry for Environment Affairs has applied many programmes that control pollution, salient which are the following:

A national plan was applied to eliminate Nile pollution through treating industrial wastes, halting the polluted industrial drainage from industrial establishments to the Nile and establishing stations to receive the sanitary drainage water resulting from Nile cruises in different governorates.

The State works on reducing air pollution rates to protect the public health and avoiding the negative effect of the poor air quality through monitoring the surrounding air quality and convert to using natural gas in means of transportation and polluting industries, in addition to transferring and upgrading the workshops and polluting industries outside the residents quarters and cities.

This programme is deemed one of the components of the Industrial Pollution Control Programme. It aims at reconciling the environmental conditions of the industrial and service establishments in new industrial cities and declaring these cities as environment-friendly cities, thus enhancing the competitive ability of their products in the international markets.

In this respect, centres for combating maritime pollution were established in Sharm el-Sheikh and Nouibaa and a dam has been built to protect the maritime oil-pollution combating centres in Sharm el-Sheikh from the hazards of flood.

The programme confronts the problems of the backwardness of the technology used in information fields in the environmental administration and the problems that Egyptian products face against foreign products. Thus the programme seeks to benefit from the information technology in Environmental administration, settle the environment-friendly technology in Egypt, reconcile the Egyptian product with the International requirements and increase its competitive ability.

The Programme aims at preserving the biological diversity in Egypt and applying sound administration systems for the reserves in application to the provisions of Law on Nature Reserves No. 102 of 1989 and implementing the national strategy to preserve the biological diversity in Egypt.

The environmental achievement record is teemed with the successes achieved in various fields during 2004/05 such as improving air quality, controlling industrial pollution and recycling wastes.

- Operating a network for monitoring air pollutants as a basic means of gathering data and information and analyzing air quality through 42 stations all over the country. In addition to upgrading the network through adding 40 stations in Beni Sueif Governorate, thus total number of network stations reached 46.

A programme for requiring car exhaust testing as a requisite for issuing vehicle licenses was started initially in Qalyubia and Giza as a first phase. Number of vehicles tested in the three governorates reached 150,000.

- Applying a national plan that comprises 12 subsidiary programmes including representatives of the ministries and authorities concerned.

- A plan for monitoring the quality of the Nile, canals and drains at the drainage point from the various establishments was implemented to know the quality of water and the influence of the drained water on it.

Continuing the national programme for monitoring the quality of the coastal water in 2005 and collecting water samples from about 80 sites distributed along the Egyptian coasts.

- Industrial drainage treatment stations in various establishments all over the Nile, canals and drains in the Greater cairo were established with a cost of LE 332 million.

In the framework of the secure utilization of the treated sanitary drainage water in forestation, infra structure to 8236 feddans and forestation works have been implemented all over Egypt.

A protocol for establishing the green belt around the Greater cairo for the first phase at a length of 22 km between the Environment Affairs Authority, the Ministry of Defense and the Military Works Administration was signed.

The state works on protecting and developing Egypt's wealth of unique and diverse nature resources whether in its coasts, deserts or between its mountains and valleys as follows:

The nature reserves network in Egypt represent important examples of environmental systems that were presented from deterioration. The reserve preserves the natural life of the living creatures to fulfill their role in the environmental system.

A number of 24 nature reserves on a total area of about 100,000 km2 were declared, representing 10 percent of Egypt's area. By 2017, the number of reserves is targeted to rise to 18 percent of Egypt's area.

It is located at the meeting point of Suez Gulf and al- Aqaba Gulf. It is 480 km². It is characterized by coral reefs deep down the sea. It is also known internationally as the most beautiful place of diving all over the world.

It is located at the eastern bank of al-Bardaweel Lake. It is 235 km² and famous for migratory birds all over the world. A number of 224 kinds of migrant birds were recorded in the reserve such as (pelicans, flamingos, quails, nightingales, ducks and hawks, etc…).

They are situated at the south east of the Eastern Desert. They are about 35,600 km² and characterized by the disparity of environmental systems such as mountains, valleys, coastal, plain and maritime areas. They have a great variety of plants that are more than 350 kind.

It is situated at the north west coast of Egypt, 83 km west Alexandria and 200 km east Matrouh. It is 700 km² and characterized by sand dunes, swamps and salinas, in addition to the rocky surfaces, valleys and the depressions of fertile soil.

It is located in the River Nile 3 km north High Dam. It is considered a unique area distinguished with its natural green cover as it is a shelter to many rare resident and migratory birds. It comprises about 94 kinds of plants and more than 60 kinds of birds that made it a promising land to the environmental tourism.

It is located 7 km west Port Said on the coastal road between Port Said and Damietta. The Islet of Tennees is located in al-Manzala Lake 7 km west Port Said. With an area of 680 km², the reserve is a main stopping point for migrant birds, where they can stay for rest and food during their travel in spring and autumn seasons. It is also distinguished by a variety of eco-systems.

It is situated at a high plateau surrounded by high mountains of varying heights. The reserve contains the highest mountain in Egypt, i.e. Mount Catherine which rises about 2637 m above sea-level. Also, it has important natural resources such as:

Located 180 km south east Aswan, the reserve is 275-km-long and 1-km- wide with an area of 30,000 km². It is a fertile soil for basic scientific research, particularly those related to geology, zoology and botany.

Situated south west of Taba, covering an area of 3,590 km², this reserve contains many geological formations, caves and mountain paths, in addition to a network of valleys such as Wateer, al-Zalga, al-Sawana and Nakheel. It contains a rich variety of rare and potentially extinct animals and plants.

Situated north east of the Nile's Rasheed branch, the lake is 70 km- long and from 6-17 km- wide with an area of 460 km² (110,000 feddans). Considered to be the second largest in Egypt, this lake is a natural habitat for about 135 water and wild plants, as well as a welcome area for receiving migrant wild birds.

The 6 km² – reserve lies at the northern-eastern corner of Egypt on its borders with Palestine. Its sand dunes rise about 60 m above sea level. These thickets are expected to have great effect on protecting soil with their thick green cover, water resources, available mammals, reptiles and wild birds, both resident and migrant. Thus, the government is keen on preserving and protecting this reserve.

The 60-km² Wadi Degla is located east of al-Ma'adi suburb in the Eastern Desert in Egypt. This most important valley in Egypt, extending to a length of 30 km, contains various animals, plants and birds, both resident and migrant.

It is located 18 km, east of Ma'di suburb and north of Al-Qatamia-Ein-Al-Sokhna road. It is considered a unique and incomparable geological site worldwide in terms of size and consummation. In addition, the study of the fossilized wood helps document features of ancient life.

It is located south of Delta in Al-Ghareeb area east of the farms of the governorate and the Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University. It is an ideal site for the reproduction of potentially extinct animals and wild plants in the Eastern Desert.

Located south-west of al-Fayyoum, the reserve is characterized by its integrated desert environment including sand dunes, natural spring, and various sea sports.

The reserve, one of the most ancient natural lakes worldwide, lies at the northern-western side of Wadi al-Rayan. It is characterized by geological formations of historical and scientific importance. Moreover, it contains various groups of resident and migrant birds.

It lies on Cairo –Alexandria desert road in Giza. It covers an area of about 1 km², characterized by complex geological formation. In addition, this reserve enjoys a special importance for geologists all over the world.

It is located about 70 km south-east of Beni Sueif city. It is famous for its alabaster geological formations of superb beauty, known as ups and downs made up over about 60 million years.

It lies among Taba, Sharm el-Sheikh and Wadi Um-A'dawi in South Sinai Governorate. It contains several major eco-systems including coral reefs, wild and aquatic creatures and “Mangrove” bushes. In addition, the reserve is a major tourist site for those interested in diving, safari and animal and bird watching.

It lies on Sharm el-Sheikh/ Taba road in an area called Wadi al-Rasasa in South Sinai Governorate. This reserve is famous for its very special topography, where mountains are so close to coasts. In addition, it has various environmental systems of coral reefs, aquatic creatures, weeds, deserts and mountains.

The Islets of River Nile reserves in Egypt's different governorates are declared as nature reserves. Studies indicate that they total about 144 islets of which 95 exist on the Nile mainstream from Aswan up to the Delta barrages with a total area of about 32,500 feddans. In addition, there are about 30 islets with an area of 3400 feddans on Rasheed Branch and about 19 islets with an area of 1250 feddans on Damietta Branch. The total area of the Nile islets is about 37150 feddans, i.e. 155km². These islets spread in 16 governorates; Aswan, Qena, Suhag, Assiut, al-Minia, Beni Sueif, Giza, Cairo, Qalubiya, Menoufia, Gharbia, Kafr al-Sheikh, Dakahlieya and Damietta.

It is situated in Siwa Oasis with an area of about 7,800 km². The eastern sector comprises Sotra, Nawamisa, Alarj, Al-Bahrain, Tabaghbagh and Jarat Om el-Sagheer, the central-sector Bi'r Wahid, and the western sector Omul-Ghuzlan, Shayata and others.

Bio-diversity is reflected in the variety of plants, rare and potentially extinct wild animals. Also, there are some geological formations (plateaus, sand dunes damp areas, . etc)

It is situated north of Al-Farafra Oasis with an area of about 3,10 km². It is a major sightseeing destination replete with fascinating landscapes and the geological formations dating back to the Cretaceous and Paleocine ages.

It contains remains of petrified trees, acacia, as well as ancient houses from the Roman era and remains of ancient earthenware. The reserve aims at encouraging tourism.

Situated on the Red sea coast, the reserve is 60 km-long, 9-km-deep in the desert and 10-km- into the sea with an area of about 7450 km².

It enjoys distinguished ecological, aesthetic, scientific and cultural characteristics. It houses a variety of plants and potentially extinct animals, in addition to Mangroov bushes, the best kind of coral reefs and aquatic herbs that serve as havens for aquatic creatures such as mermaid, turtles and as reproduction areas for fish and invertebrates.

About 19 reserves are to be declared in future: al-Qasima, al-Mahara, Ra's al-Hekma, al-Shoeila, al-Saloum, al-Qasr, Wadi Giravi, al-Qatara Depression, Um al-Ghezlan, al-Galala al-Qebleya, Red Sea, Ra's Shoqeir Salina, Shayeb al-Banat, Wadi Qena, the White Desert, Um al-Dabadeep. Hamata, Karoud Naql, al-Golf al-Kabeir.

Preliminary studies have been conducted on nature resources, biological diversity and rare geological formations in Siwa and the White Desert in al-Wadi al-Gadeed (The New Valley) Governorate.