The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) approved a new mechanism for financial assessment of environmental damage resulting from accidents or natural resources violations.
Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad said, in a statement on Saturday, that the new measure aims to achieve the required deterrence regarding encroachments on terrestrial ecosystems.
The moves came as a continuation of the ministry’s efforts to achieve a qualitative leap in the conservation of natural resources in the natural protected areas and to develop their management in accordance with international systems in order to achieve the sustainability of their resources.
Fouad explained that this mechanism provides protection for the natural resources of the terrestrial reserves and completes the ministry’s plan for the integrated management of marine and terrestrial natural resources. It also achieves environmental justice and law enforcement in holding accountable the cause of the damage.
Fair compensations related to damages resulting from accidents and environmental violations on the terrestrial reserves will be collected to support the process of ecological conservation of natural resources, and as compensation for economic losses resulting from the destruction.
The minister emphasised that the process of collecting fines is not intended to just for collecting money, but rather to achieve a just deterrence for violators in a way that guarantees the integrity of the ecosystems in the terrestrial reserves.
