The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Youth Loves Egypt Foundation (YLE) celebrated African Day last week with an activity that aims at limiting the use of plastics to better preserve biological diversity.
The activity centred on a “Clean River” campaign for the River Nile, and came within the “Clean shores” campaign launched by YLE last month to reduce the use of plastics in North Africa, with the objective of achieving sustainable development.
The campaign, which was attended by Egypt’s Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati, was carried out on the Nile bank sector that stretches in front of the Ministry building in Cairo. Some 30 volunteers from the YLE and Ismailiya Scouts participated. A ton of plastic waste was collected using basic tools.
Dr Abdel Ati called on Egyptians not to throw waste or garbage in waterways, and to reduce the use of plastic items to avoid the negative effect on the environment.
Noteworthy is that civil society organisations have been stepping up efforts to raise awareness of water scarcity and the need to conserve Egypt’s limited water resources and protect them from pollution.
The Youth Loves Egypt Foundation (YLE), a NGO founded in 2012 in Egypt and accredited by the UNEP and UNEP Map, has been active in the clean-up of beaches on Red Sea islands. Last month, it launched the second phase of the initiative “Reduce plastics use”, which aims at cleaning up Egypt’s northern coast and protecting the marine environment of North Africa, and which extends along two years year from 13 April 2019 to 12 April 2021. It involves clean-up of the banks of the River Nile from Aswan in the South to the Mediterranean in the North; the Red Sea, Suez and Aqaba Gulfs; South Sinai; and the Mediterranean coast from Alexandria to Morocco.
It also includes implementing a number of awareness campaigns, workshops, and seminars in schools, universities and local communities. This would be achieved in collaboration with some 21 North African civil foundations.
Along the same line of protecting wildlife, marine life and endangered species, the Red Sea Governor, Ahmed Abdallah issued a decision to ban single-use plastics as of 1 June 2019, upon a recommendation by the NGO Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA).
Watani International
30 May 2019