Nature Reserves and Authoritarian Rule in Egypt

Abstract

This article explores how Egypt's system of authoritarian rule initially fostered and subsequently undermined nature conservation efforts. During the 1990s, international donors and local scientists established a well-managed network of nature preserves in the South Sinai region of Egypt. The concentration of state authority in a few executive institutions, such as the military and centrally appointed provincial governors, facilitated the creation of an effective management regime. However, these achievements have come under threat. Executive institutions charged with tourism development have challenged the authority of the protected areas division, and the capacity of the protected areas network has been undermined through systematic underinvestment and diversion of park revenues. In addition, local Bedouin communities that benefited from effectively managed parks remain politically marginalized. Although reformers in the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East can build environmental capacities, some of the economic and political logics associated with authoritarian rule limit the sustainability of these endeavors.

Authoritarian environmentalism and China's response to climate change

“…Sowers (2007), in her study of nature reserves in Egypt, emphasises the concentration of state authority in executive institutions, which facilitates a rapid formulation and implementation of policies. Doyle and Simpson (2006), meanwhile, show how authoritarian environmentalism in Iran involves the mobilisation of society to support state policies.…”

Climate change, water resources, and the politics of adaptation in the Middle East and North Africa

“…Businesses associated with tourism are beginning to express concern about how climate change could affect the industry (World Bank 2007). In Egypt, however, tourism operators concerned about environmental issues are more focused on the immediate destruction of coral reefs and desert habitats brought about by unrestricted development than the challenges of climate change (Sowers 2007).…”

Political Challenges to Biomedical Universalism: Kidney Failure among Egypt's Poor

“…The ambitious construction in 1970 of the Aswan High Dam to provide hydroelectricity throughout the nation also dramatically reduced water flow and the movement of the richly fertile Nile silt; farmers were thus compelled to depend on chemical fertilizers and pesticides that caused weed flourishing, blocked waterways, and caused stagnant water, the ideal habitat for the vector of schistosomiasis. Increased evapotranspiration further degraded water quality (Abdel-Shafy and Aly 2002:2; Sowers 2007). In an effort to respond to increased schistosomiasis infection, the Egyptian state in the 1970s launched a massive campaign in which public health officers went from door to door of villages up and down the Nile, dispensing tartar emetic injections as preventative therapy.…”

“…While epidemiologists 380 S. F. HAMDY attribute increase in part to longer lifespan, the reduction of early mortality from infections, diet, the stresses of fast-paced modern life, and environmental toxicity all contribute to these trends (Ibrahim 2012;Galal 2002;Bassili 2000). Concerns about risks have been verified by toxicology and environmental epidemiology: industrial waste is the major source of pollution in Egypt; hundreds of industries discharge sewage-water directly into the Nile without proper treatment; and workers are often in direct contact with heavily toxic industrial materials (Sowers 2007;International POPs Elimination Project 2006). The poor quality of water, and its uneven supply, particularly in hot climates in which people are more susceptible to dehydration, can pose particular stresses on kidney function.…”