The Governmental action to solve the water pollution crisis in general and the fresh water problem is desperately needed but not gained yet, despite of the all the floral promises, media
Trang 1Egypt's Water Warriors : Water Pollution in Egypt and the Role of
NGOs in Reaching Integrated Management
Gihan S Soliman1, Ahmed M Abdel-Azeem*2 and Fatma Mahmoud Salem2
1 Educational Consultant and Chair of International Curricula Educators Association, Cairo, Egypt- Master's researcher at the Institute of Environmental Studies and Research, Ain Shams University,
2 Botany Department, Faculty of Science, University of Suez Canal, Ismailia, Egypt
gihansami@yahoo.com
Abstract
Water resources in Egypt, among which the Nile River is the most celebrated throughout history, are variable At ancient times, It was deeply rooted in the heart of each Egyptian that the Nile River was sacred and thus had to be preserved clean to avoid the wrath of the Gods Today the Nile River and all Egypt's Waters are crying out for help according to the available researches Water pollution sources in Egypt today are various and Industrial wastes are considered the major source On the other hand, about 90% of the rural populations have no access to sewer systems or wastewater treatment facilities The use of fertilizers and pesticides has significantly increased after the construction of High Dam and causes weed flourishing, which increases evapotranspiration, blocks the waterways, and provides habitats for Bilharzia snails Algal blooming and their toxins as a drastic source of water pollution in Egypt, has never been the target of any study before carried by the Egyptian researchers till 1994 In this year, Lake Nasser and fresh water canal in Port Said were invaded by algal blooms
The Governmental action to solve the water pollution crisis in general and the fresh water problem is desperately needed but not gained yet, despite of the all the floral promises, media announcements, conferences and posters(according to the reports of the Ministry of Environment and the cry-outs of stakeholders remarkably reported by media The current situation of fresh water canal in Port Said, as case of study, has reached a pathetic condition The canal receives diverse sources of pollution such
as agricultural and liquid discharges from stables along the canal On the other hand the low level of sanitation service especially in rural areas (7% at most) makes nearby streams (either canals or drains) the perfect places for inhabitants to dispose their sewage as in the case of Ezbet El-Eslah
About 225 NGOs were established in Port Said among which only 2 associations are active in the field of environment protection
Conferences have been a powerful advocacy method for Balady Association enabling scientists to share their voices, make contacts and influence Two prominent individual waters warriors in Egypt are
Dr Ahmed Abdel Azeem and the writer of this article who have been ardently involved in the leadership of several societies (International-Curricula Educators Association, Balady Port Said, St Kathrine for Social and Environmental Services,…etc) and have been leading several initiatives aiming at raising public awareness and lobbying against water pollution, as a specific case of protecting the Egyptian environment, such as Science Across Egypt (implemented on Port Said American School , St Kathrine and Port Said Experimental School as models) and "Stop, Our Environment is Our Life" and who finally established the International Foundation for Environment Protection and Sustainability in advocacy for the Egyptian Environment, monuments and Waters
Keywords : Waters warriors, Egypt, water resources, WaterPllution, Rsponsibility of civic society in ,
integrated management 2;
Trang 2Water resources in Egypt, among which the Nile River is the most celebrated throughout history, are variable At ancient times, It was deeply rooted in the heart of each Egyptian that the Nile River was sacred and thus had to be preserved clean to avoid the wrath of the Gods Today the Nile River and all Egypt's Waters are crying out for help according to the available researches[1], Water pollution2 sources in Egypt today are various and Industrial wastes are considered3 the major source On the
other hand, about 90% of the rural populations have no access
to sewer systems or wastewater treatment facilities The use of fertilizers and pesticides has significantly increased after the construction of High Dam and causes weed flourishing, which increases
evapotrans piration, blocks the waterways, and provides habitats for Bilharzia snails Algal
blooming and their toxins as a drastic source of
water pollution in Egypt[4, has never been the
target of any solid study before carried by the
Egyptian researchers till 1994 In this year, Lake
Nasser and fresh water canal in Port Said were
invaded by algal blooms Several studies were
conducted in order to explore the variations in
floristic composition, phytoplankton communities, ecological parameters and produced toxins Now algal blooming is prevailing in fresh water canals in different governorates viz Suez, Ismailia, Damietta and Alexandria
The Governmental action to solve the water pollution crisis in general and the fresh water problem is desperately needed but not gained yet, despite of the all the floral promises, media announcements, conferences and posters(according to the reports of the Ministry of Environment and the cry-outs of stakeholders remarkably reported by the media 5 6
1http://www.omfi.hu/cejoem/Volume8/Vol8No1/CE02_1-01.html
2http://www.ahramag.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=770
3Al Ahram Scientific Magazine
4Al Masri Alyoum
5http://www.portsaid-online.com/news/community-and-politics/internal-affairs/1373
6http://www.portsaid-online.com/news/community-and-politics/internal-affairs/1373
Trang 3Saint Kathrine's Ground Water
In 2009 a study on St Kathrine's ground water was published by Dr Abdel-Azzem & Gab Allah
investigating the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of groundwater in Saint Katherine,
South Sinai, Egypt and exploring the diversity, occurrence and distribution of fungal taxa in
groundwater in South Sainai, samples of groundwater from 27 sites were analyzed from June (2008)
to April (2009) Total coliform count, heavy metals (Pb, Mn and Cu), nitrates, nitrites, fluorides and
uranium contents of the majority of studied sites exceed the permissible level concentration for
drinking water standards recommended by WHO and of Egyptian Standards Aspergillus niger and
within all screened species Multivariate statistical analyses were used to detect community patterns
related to spatial, abiotic and biotic factors Fifteen terrestrial and eight zoosporic fungi were
recovered Twenty four awareness campaigns, water education programmes and competitions for
1200 local Bedouins and school students were complemented to teach schoolchildren about the
importance of safe drinking and water conservation We were able, based on our awareness
campaign, to get two hundred devices of ecoBETA© water-efficient products donated and installed to
purify groundwater for the Bedouins
Egypt's Waters and Education
Educating in Egypt is defective7 in regards of relating science to
life and environment, we have carried our several campaigns
and initiative in order to get the school student involved in
protection of the Egyptian environment in general and Egypt's
waters in particular On the 3rd of June 2010, among other
NGOs, we went out on the protest against pollution On Manzala
Lake in Port Said and on the Water Day, 2011 we went out to the
river Nile with Port Said American School, Zamalek to test the
water and analyze the results then initiate the call to have the
Nile as a protectorate We aimed at supporting participatory
assessment exercises among stakeholders to identify and harness the
wealth of knowledge, skills, resources and institutions of importance for
integrated management of water resources that are available in society in an overview to assess key
threats to Egypt's waters and develop and implement strategies to prevent and/or mitigate such
threats Port Said Experimental School in Port Said is another school we went out with exploring
marine biodiversity, measuring turbidity of water and cleaning the beach
Water Pollution in Port Said – A Case Study
The current situation of fresh water canal in Port Said, as case of study, has reached a pathetic
condition The canal receives diverse sources of pollution such as agricultural and liquid discharges
from stables along the canal On the other hand the low level of sanitation service especially in rural
areas (7% at most) makes nearby streams (either canals or drains) the perfect places for inhabitants
to dispose their sewage as in the case of Ezbet El-Eslah The fresh water canal of Port Said was
invaded by algal blooming specially Oscillatoria brevis and polluted by algal toxins in 1990 Until now
the decision makers/ stakeholder in Port Said have failed to solve the pollution problem or enforce
the 4/1994 code to eliminate pollution sources along the canal Bahr Al Baqar is another canal that
drains 1.5 million cubic meters daily in Manzala Lake loaded with heavy metals exceeding the
7
Trang 4permissible levels8 (Changing its salty nature) as reported by the Ministry of Environment A problem
arises from speculations in decision making in compliance to the natural protectorate law and the
decision of the Prime Minister regulating to activities inside the protectorates in addition to the
inefficiency of the biological treatment project of Bahr Al Bagar water which is sufficient to treats only a
small portion of the water as the report adds About more than 320 NGOs were established in Port
Said among which only 6 associations are active in the field of environment protection Conferences9
have been a powerful advocacy method for Balady Port Said Association10 (in Port Said) and other
concerned NGOs(ICEA11 12), NPOs (Currently ESEPS), Environmental Rights Advocates (As Habi
Center) enabling scientists to share their voices, make contacts and influence the situation effectively
More than once it happened that the governorate tried to satisfy the angry (sickened ) people living on
fishing and drinking13 the heavily polluted14 water by assigning governmental committees to explore
the problem and make recommendations but reports were archived in the drawers and nothing
happens
Two prominent individual waters warriors in Egypt that are fighting the battle as activists, Dr Ahmed
Abdel Azeem and, Gihan S Soliman who have been ardently involved in the leadership of several
societies (International-Curricula Educators Association(ICEA), Balady Port Said Society for protection
an emerging Society15 for protection of environment and sustainability…etc) and have been leading
several initiatives aiming at raising public awareness, lobbying against water pollution, and for
conservation in general, as a specific case of protecting the Egyptian environment, such as Science
Across Egypt16 implemented on Port Said American School, Qawmeya American School, Agouza[1]
St Kathrine17, Port Said Experimental School; Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Damietta
Branch, as models and "Stop, Our Environment is Our Life18" in advocacy for the Egyptian
Environment and waters in particular, to make the link between the science and life in attempt to save
Egypt's waters Scientific reports and papers are theoretically available to the public but practically
they are not, as they are hard to read for the
unspecialized person The initiatives were carried out
to facilitate access to information on pollution to the
average reader and get the public involved in
protecting the waters of Egypt's waters
As a result of such battles, several governorates have
taken actions of amendment by forming civic
committees chaired by scientists among which Dr
Ahmed Abdel Azeem was one of a few
Media reported the progress in increasing
interest.[19],[20].to investigate the amount and seriousness of pollution caused by factories dumping
their waste in the Egyptian waters as a first step for reform while the battle continues One plant
http://www.springerlink.com/content/6884j57n63263271 8
9http://www.ahramag.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=936
10http://www.portsaid-online.com/news/community-and-politics/internal-affairs/1373
11 http://www.icea-egy.org
12http://esango.un.org/civilsociety/simpleSearch.do?method=search&searchTypeRedef=simpleSearch&sessionC
heck=false&searchType=simpleSearch&organizationNamee=international+curricula+educators+association
13http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=51122&IssueID=612
alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=207010
-http://www.almasry
14
15http://ifeps.org
16http://www.icea-egy.org/SAE.html,
http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2011/10/19/science-across-egypt-project , http://ahramag.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=752
17 http://www.iwtc.info/2009_pdf/18-1.pdf
18http://ifeps.blogspot.com/
19Al Ahram
Trang 5investigated by the committee in Port Said was proved as being eco-friendly using ZLD technique in Egypt, where 90 % of the waste water is recovered as process water quality and recycled to the plant process water system The committees report was archived for no reason and the battle continues for Egypt's waters
It was ironical when the Ministry of Environment called21 2011,for coordination and integrated management to save the lake as it receives 6.6 milliard cm of agricultural drainage, 226.6 million cm of sewage and 4.2 million cm of industrial drainage per year A need for international support, for more and real interventions to make sure that coordination and integration of efforts are secured in managing the fresh water resources of Egypt to make sure they are clean and safe for the Egyptians and for the whole world which Egypt is a part of
Education for Conservation of Marine Environment:
Not only is the campaign concerned about fresh water
resources but water pollution, conservation of marine
environment and ecosystems ICEA and Red Sea
Research have proposed an educational program for
conservation of marine environment in Ras Mohamed
and an initial agreement has been made in regards Full
proposal is to be downloaded on
[www.icea-egy.org/SAE.html]
References
Abdel-Azeem AM and Gab Allah, M M (2011) Aspergillus niger and Spirogyra varians as new biosorbents of heavy metals and radionuvlifddies from polluted groundwater in south Sinai, Egypt Assiut Univ J of Botany 40(2), P-P.159-193
Abdel-Aziz, F.A (2008) Diversity of aquatic fungi on Phragmites australis at Lake
Manzala, Egypt Sydowia 60 (1): 1-14
Gihan S Soliman(2011), Science Across Egypt (Media Articles)22 23 24
Abdel Azeem Ahmed, نﻥﯾﻳأﺃ ﻰﻟإﺇ ﺔﻟزﺯﻧﻣﻟاﺍ ةﺓرﺭﯾﻳﺣﺑ (Media Article)
Abdel Azeem Ahmed, نﻥوﻭدﺩﺳﺎﻓ مﻡﻛﻠﻛ خﺥرﺭﺻﺗ ﺔﻟزﺯﻧﻣﻟاﺍ ةﺓرﺭﯾﻳﺣﺑ (Media Article)
Abdel Azeem Ahmed, ثﺙﯾﻳوﻭﻠﺗﻟاﺍوﻭ ﺔﯾﻳﺣﺎﺗﻻاﺍ نﻥﯾﻳﺑ هﻩﺎﯾﻳﻣﻟاﺍ(Media Article)
Al Masry AlYom, 25دﺩﯾﻳﻌﺳرﺭوﻭﺑ ﻲﻓ بﺏرﺭﺷﻟاﺍ هﻩﺎﯾﻳﻣ وﻭزﺯﻐﺗ بﺏﻟﺎﺣطﻁﻟاﺍ
Al Yom Al Sabei(the Seventh Day), 26ﻊﻧﺎﺻﻣﻠﻟ ءاﺍدﺩوﻭﺳ ﺔﻣﺋﺎﻗ رﺭﺷﻧﻟ ﺔﯾﻳﻟوﻭدﺩﻟاﺍ تﺕﺎﻣظﻅﻧﻣﻟاﺍ بﺏطﻁﺎﺧﻧﺳ: ﻲﺑﺎﺣ ﺔﺳﺳؤﺅﻣ(Media Article)
Al Masry Al Yom: ثﺙوﻭﻠﺗﻟاﺍ نﻥﻣ ﺔﻟزﺯﻧﻣﻟاﺍ ةﺓرﺭﯾﻳﺣﺑ ذﺫﺎﻘﻧﻹ مﻡﻼﻋﻹاﺍ لﻝﺋﺎﺳوﻭﺑ ثﺙﯾﻳﻐﺗﺳﺗ ﺔﺋﯾﻳﺑﻟاﺍ
20Al Youm Al Sabe' (The Seventh Day)
21http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=214994
22 http://ahramag.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=752
23http://ahramag.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=762
24http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2011/10/19/science-across-egypt-project
25http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=51122&IssueID=612
26http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=463979
Trang 6Visual References
http://www.springerlink.com/index/6884j57n63263271.pdf
http://saintkatherinecenter.blogspot.com/2011/01/cultural-heritage-unit.html http://www.ifeps.org
http://www.ifeps.blogspot.com
http://www.icea-egy.org/SAE.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MCB3FP606I