(Photo by Watter El Bahry)
The central administration for Biological Diversity and the Project to Protect Migrating Birds, part of the Ministry of Environment, celebrated the International Migratory Bird Day along with the rest of the world. The celebration was also attended by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, under the auspices of the UNDP, and was held at the Fekra cultural centre in the Shalal area in Aswan.
Many Aswan residents who work in eco-tourism took part in the celebration. The aim of the event was to promote the protection of the environment and nature through sustainable tourism in Aswan and other areas that fall within the migrating routes.
To mark the occasion, the first birdwatching tower was built at Aswan’s Fekra Centre in the Aswan reservoir area, according to the standards of the IBA agreement. The area is considered important because of the migrating birds passing through, and is therefore a potential site for tourism.
Festivities are organised each year in May, celebrating the journeys of migrating birds which travel thousands of kilometres in their annual migration from the North to South. The celebration aims to shed light on the connection between tourism and the birds, as well as the role of developing sustainable tourism in protecting this natural phenomenon.
