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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
More energy, less pollution
By Mahmoud BakrOver half a million Egyptians suffer from pollution-related diseases, according to the director of Qasr Al-Aini National Centre for Toxins, Dr Mahmoud Amr. The Ministry of Health spends up to LE6 billion on the treatment of health problems caused by industrial pollution. The expansion of industry along the banks of the Nile has resulted in water contamination, leading to the increased incidence of various renal, liver, respiratory and mental health problems.
The high costs, both financial and health-related, of pollution have made environmental protection an urgent priority for the Egyptian government, especially since there will be 33 industrial cities in Egypt, comprising 70 per cent of Egyptian industry, by 2017. The importance of dealing with industrial pollution is reflected in the growing budget allocated to the issue. Ahmed Hamza, senior consultant to the Ministry of the Environment, notes that in the early 1990s, LE12 billion was allocated to combating pollution, while the current five-year plan earmarks LE26 billion for environmental protection, of which LE7 billion is devoted to encouraging the use of cleaner technology and the reduction of waste through modernised production lines.
Government initiatives to protect the environment are brought together in the efforts of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and the Ministry of the Environment. The EEAA has plans to upgrade the environmental status of 500 large companies, 2,500 medium-sized companies and 100,000 small and informal enterprises, whose growth is causing substantial environmental problems. Ibrahim Abdel-Galil, EEAA chief executive, says there are many ways firms can obtain support for environmental upgrading of their operations. An EEAA project for controlling industrial pollution offers financial and technical support to industrial firms to bring them into compliance with Egypt's environmental law. Environmental projects can also benefit from the investment incentives law and the Ministry of the Environment is looking into possibilities of providing further incentives for these projects, through tax exemptions for example. In addition, the recently established Environment Protection Fund offers easy loans to firms attempting to improve their environmental profile. Abdel-Galil is also trying to arrange for commercial banks to provide loans for the same purpose.
Egypt's moves to limit industrial pollution are supported through bilateral and multilateral arrangements. The Finnish government, World Bank and European Investment Bank provide up to $50 million in grants and easy loans to public sector companies seeking to upgrade their operations. Priority will be given to those companies slated for privatisation. The German Construction Bank has given the Egyptian government approximately DM60 million, 25 per cent of it as grants to improve the environmental status of firms.
In addition to combating industrial pollution by targeting the industries themselves, there are also plans to promote an effective media strategy that will raise awareness of pollution nationwide. The EEAA with the Finnish aid agency in Cairo and the European Investment Bank recently organised a three-day workshop, attended by environmental experts and scientists from Egypt, on fighting industrial pollution through cooperation with the media. The participants recommended that the media have free access to information on environmental pollution, and that the role of the local press in environmental awareness-raising should be promoted. Environmental issues, participants argued, must be introduced into regular features pages, such as the women's, children's or economy pages of the national newspapers. The media should be encouraged to visit areas suffering from pollution, as well as areas that provide models of successful environmental measures. Radio and television should also broadcast more programmes focusing on the environment.
Yehia El-Mahgari, an expert working on the EEAA project to control industrial pollution, believes that the only way to stop industrial pollution is through cleaner production methods. He notes that increasing production efficiency and researching cleaner methods of production are now priorities for the industrial nations. The former executive director of the UN Environment Programme, Mustafa Kamel Tolba, accuses industry of wasting between twice and five times the amount of energy it consumes, due to outdated industrial equipment and government subsidies on energy resources. He stresses the need to improve efficiency. Recent research indicates that energy consumption in Egypt could be reduced by up to 20 per cent. Tolba believes that it is imperative for Egypt, with its rapidly growing population, to replace non-sustainable fossil fuels, such as coal or oil, with cleaner, sustainable sources such as solar or wind energy.
In response to Egypt's pressing need for cleaner energy resources, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has formed a committee of experts to explore the use and manufacture of solar cells. Abdel-Latif El-Sharqawi, chair of the ministry committee and secretary-general of the Higher Council for Academic Research Centres, Institutes and Agencies, says Egypt is in a particularly strong position to exploit solar energy, given that it enjoys many hours of sunshine year round. It should use this advantage for the development of areas far from the Nile Valley, many of which possess important underground water resources but are deprived of energy and transport infrastructure. Solar energy has the potential to provide many of the essential energy requirements for isolated communities.
Developing Egypt's capabilities in producing solar cells, which are currently only imported, is one of the concerns of the committee, which has recommended that Egypt begin trial production. The sum of LE50 million has been allocated for the financing of trial production lines and research into appropriate technology over a three-year period.
El-Mahgari notes that investment in cleaner technology is financially viable and investors can receive returns within a few months. There are currently many efforts to get the message across regarding the importance of investment in sustainable energy sources. As a result, some banks are now participating in such projects. Sustainable energy is one way of cleaning up industrial production, as well as enabling the sustainable use of natural resources. Ultimately, sustainable energy reduces environmental pollution.
