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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Bid for "better air"
By Mahmoud Bakr
Under the banner "Our Land is Our Future -- Let's Work to Save It," the nation celebrated the 26th World Environment Day on Saturday. The celebrations, highlighting the fight against pollution, were staged in a non-traditional style. State Minister of Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid, accompanied by a delegation of ministers, governors, MPs and NGO representatives, toured Cairo in one of the new public transport buses fuelled by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The intention was to raise awareness among the public of the importance of clean air.
The bus, which is equipped with educational facilities, drove to downtown Tahrir Square, where Ebeid and experts demonstrated to bystanders the bus's environmental advantages. The high-ranking delegation also explained the Environment Ministry's efforts to reduce air pollution through its "Cairo Better Air" project. Various brochures were distributed to the public to raise awareness of environmental issues.
The minister also visited a number of ecological projects and inaugurated a sewage treatment station in New Cairo, a satellite city under construction east of the capital. The station has a capacity of 1,000 cubic metres per day and its output is used to irrigate the Children's Garden and gardens run by the Egyptian Environment Affairs Agency (EEAA) in the area, as well as the green belt bordering the ring road.
In her address, Ebeid pledged the support of all Egyptian environmentalists for President Hosni Mubarak's re-nomination for a fourth term. "If it was not for the continued political support by the president for all environmental causes, we would not have been able to achieve any successes in this field," the minister said. "The president has placed environment issues on Egypt's political agenda."
She added that Egypt has signed 60 international environment agreements, and "plays a pivotal role in [the implementation of] the agreements." This year, she noted, a number of environmental campaigns will continue, including a project to reduce Nile River pollution, another for increasing the use of CNG as fuel for cars and buses and a third for expanding the use of pure hydrogen as fuel.
"As for the pollution emitted from brick ovens, the problem will be resolved next December," Ebeid said.
Qalyubiya Governor Sabri El-Biyali said that his offices are "making an all-out effort to have lead foundries removed from residential areas." The governorate is also studying the relocation of textile factories outside the residential zone.
Ibrahim Abdel-Gelil, director of the EEAA, said that this year's celebrations aimed to raise awareness of the uses of CNG as a clean fuel for vehicles. "The carbon dioxide emitted from other fuels is a real threat to general health and reduces humans' average age level," Abdel-Gelil added. He further stated that using compressed natural gas as vehicle fuel cuts costs by 40 per cent.
In other celebrations on Sunday, the Egyptian Environmental NGO Federation organised a seminar attended by Omar Abdel-Akher, chairman of the General Federation of NGOs, and Abdel-Gelil. The seminar discussed the main challenges facing Egypt's environment and a three-year NGO draft plan for fighting pollution.
