Rangers working in several of Egypt’s protectorates staged sit-ins earlier this month for the first time to protest problems related to their work conditions and to call attention to the ongoing threats to Egypt’s protectorates, which they work to safeguard. In what Waleed Hassan, one of the protesting rangers who spoke to Egypt Independent, called…
A new educational environmental travel project, “Dayma,” offers a creative and alternative gateway to discovering and embracing Egypt’s natural beauty. Dayma, which means everlasting, enduring and sustainable in Arabic, perfectly describes what the project aims to encourage. Dayma’s founders are Sara al-Sayed and Betty Khoury, two biologists with previous work experience in environmental education. They embarked…
The damage inflicted on Egypt’s lakes testifies to man’s ability to quickly destroy what nature took centuries to create. Lakes — or wetlands — add to the varied topography of the country, but environmental damage is seriously jeopardizing their habitats. In some cases the damage is irreversible. This severe ecological damage is due to industrialization, land reclamation, modern…
The leading slogan of Egypt’s revolution has been “Bread, Freedom and Human Dignity,” reflecting the deterioration of Egyptians’ quality of life throughout Mubarak’s thirty-year reign. Consequently, an array of human rights issues have featured among the demands made since the beginning of the 25 January revolution. One such issue has been securing environmental rights. The…
Unfortunately, the environment has not been a priority for Egypt. Like in the case of many other developing countries, environmentally sound development is often depicted as being in tension with economic profit. In the Arab World, a region severely affected by growing environmental problems, an average of less than 1 percent of countries’ national budgets…
The yearly environmental event Earth Hour — which began in 2007 — will be held today. For one hour, starting at 8.30 PM local time, people are asked to turn off all non-essential light and power. The intention is that people reflect, in the darkness, on our over-reliance on carbon fuel and the need for…
Online social media served as a pivotal tool throughout the 18 days of mass protests that led up to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, and has now become a space in which Egypt’s youth convene to discuss how to build the nation’s future. During the protests Tahrir Square in central Cairo was transformed into…
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. That is what I view to be the nature of the conflicting emotions which have been surfacing from this two-week old revolution, from emancipation, to anxiety, to anger, to sadness and frustration, to hope. The rapidly evolving political landscape has been challenging to…
For almost two weeks now Egypt has been gripped by a rapidly changing political landscape, triggered by protesters taking to the streets on January 25 in what has been dubbed a youth-led revolution. The streets of Cairo, and other major cities throughout the country, have been overwhelmed by an unprecedented number of citizens taking to…
As part of our Green Profile series, in which prominent figures discuss pressing environmental issues, Al-Masry Al-Youm spoke to Ismail Serageldin, director of the Library of Alexandria, about increasing concerns over water availability and management. Al-Masry Al-Youm: As someone who has had a long and vast career, including several positions within the environment field (such…
Hoda Baraka 