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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Special Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Compatible goals
By El-Sayed Elewa *
Although the definition of the state has been changed by globalisation, the state's success is still measured according to four criteria: ability to compete; human resource development; its record on democracy and human rights; and environmental protection. Poverty leads to the degradation of the environment. Conversely, sustained development is linked with environmental preservation. The 1992 Rio de Janeiro summit emphasised the importance of the fight against pollution and the need for policies to protect land and water resources.
Strategic management of the environment is focused around four main axes: self-regulation; international supervision; natural resource management and the global role of scientists.
In Egypt, great efforts have been made to make national development environmentally-friendly. The difficulty here, as elsewhere, has been balancing individual and community interests, national projects and citizens' concerns. The political leadership has launched a public awareness campaign and set up a nationwide pollution monitoring system, in the belief that protecting the environment will improve living conditions for the average citizen. The government, furthermore, would do well to focus on two main points: mobilising NGOs and the private sector to solve environmental problems; and addressing the problem of poverty.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is professor of political science at Helwan University.
