The Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, said that the ministry’s plan this year focuses on three axes, which are to develop the natural reserves, increase their revenues and marketing, establish landfills for waste and intermediate stations, as well as to reduce pollution.
She added that the coming period will witness the entry of three environment-related laws into the House of Representatives as a system without legislation will not be useful. These three laws include the Law of the Economic Commission for Natural Reserves, the Waste Law, as well as the Environment Law, which seeks to integrate the environmental dimension in all fields.
She explained that natural reserves must achieve an economic return, and to be utilised in proportion to their current conditions. The ministry also aims to market these reserves in order to attract tourists and increase revenues.
Moreover, studies and plans for the establishment of landfills and intermediate stations have been completed. Plans have been finalised for 27 governorates, and studies were carried out in order to develop each governorate separately, in addition to completing the Waste Law.
Fouad elaborated, “We have an integrated system for the number of landfills and dumps needed in each governorate. There is a cost for building and equipping the landfill, and therefore it is a medium-term plan which will be carried out over two years.”
She referred to the signed agreements worth €25m to finance the pollution control projects in industrial establishments within the Industrial Pollution Control Programme, which is a tool assisting industrial facilities to adjust their situation through a 20% grant, and the rest through a soft loan.
The minister also said that the government is striving to achieve the UN goals for sustainable development in order to protect the environment. The tourism, energy, and industrial sectors are some of the most affected sectors from climate change, which is considered a developmental challenge, and such a project today helps to achieve gains for all the sectors.
Greenhouse gases in Egypt are 1% less than the global level, and everyone is seeking to eliminate them. Egypt is capable of undertaking several initiatives in all the sectors in order to achieve the success of the environmental system.
Furthermore, Fouad stated that the ministry of environment prepared a clear roadmap and has thorough information on the problem of waste collection across the country. The ministries of military production and local development both have the necessary tools to achieve the overall system’s success.
