The protection of the water environment from pollution represents another important priority of MSEA and its executive institution, the EEAA. In this respect, Law 4/1994 for the Environment places an emphasis on the protection of the coastal wasters and the marine environment, complementing Law 48/1982 for the protection of the River Nile. The lines of action in this regard encompass water quality monitoring activities and initiatives, as well as pollution abatement and mitigation efforts.

During 2000/2001, the MSEA announced the River Nile to be free from industrial pollution. This significant environmental improvement is resulting from the compliance with environmental laws and regulations of 34 large industrial establishments, previously responsible for discharging a total of 100 millions m3/year of untreated industrial waste to the river. Their compliance was ensured due to continuous inspection visits carried out by a committee with representatives from MSEA, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and Surface Water Police Department. A total of approximately 360 million Egyptian pounds had been invested in pollution abatement at the 34 establishments.

Termination of Water Pollution on the River Nile

Number of establishments

34 establishments

Implementation period

September 1996-December 1998

Budget

360 million L.E.

Funding source

Self funded by the industrial establishments

Number of establishments

24 establishments

Implementation period

January 1999- December 2002

Budget

120 million L.E. (estimate)

Funding source

Self funded by the industrial establishments and soft loans from the MSEA

Current situation (July 2001)

21 industrial establishments have complied and the remaining 3 are implementing the necessary measures for compliance.

Number of establishments

54 establishments

Implementation period

January 2002- December 2006

Budget

260 million L.E. (estimate)

Funding source

Self funded by industrial establishments and soft loans from the MSEA

Current situation (July 2001)

10 industrial establishments have complied, and the remaining 44 establishments have not yet taken any action towards compliance.

Number of establishments

36 establishments (15 in Suez)

Implementation period

January 2001-December 2008

Budget

300 million L.E. (estimate)

Funding source

Self funded by industrial establishments and soft loans from the MSEA

Current situation (July 2001)

13 industrial establishments have complied, 5 establishments are implementing the necessary measures for compliance, while the remaining 18 establishment have not yet taken any action towards compliance.

During 2000/2001, four docking stations for receiving wastes from Nile cruise boats became operational. The stations are located in Cairo, El Minya, Assiut, and Sohag. Another station located in Aswan has been constructed, and efforts are underway for putting it into operation. In conjunction with this, standards and specifications were prepared for the construction of new cruise docking stations along the Nile, as well as the operation of Nile cruise boats. Furthermore, continuous activities are carried out monitoring the river water quality. In the summer of 2000, a study was published concerning the water quality of the River Nile, carried out by the Central Laboratory of EEAA in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, and covering a stretch of the river from south of Helwan to the mouth of the Damietta and Rosetta branches along the Mediterranean. Underway is the finalization of the 2001 study, which covers the whole stretch of the river in Egypt, from Aswan to the Mediterranean.

Development activities along lakes and surface water bodies in Egypt has accelerated at an increasing pace during recent years. This has rendered the need for the incorporation of the environmental dimension in these developmental activities an urgent need, aiming at sustainable management of these resources. In this respect, plans are underway for 2001/2002 for the development of an integrated management system for lakes in Egypt, where standards and specifications for further developmental activities would ensure their protection from environmental damage.

Within the overall framework of the protection of lakes form pollution, a demonstration initiative concerned with the establishment of engineered wetlands for the treatment of wastewater from the Bahr El Bakar drain before it enters lake Manzala, has progressed further in 2000/2001, with its construction phase underway.

The quality of the coastal waters along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coastlines in Egypt is monitored through a network of 84 sampling stations. The monitoring network was set up with assistance from the Danish Government as part of the Environmental Information and Monitoring Program ( EIMP ) of EEAA, and has been fully operational for the past two years, measuring various chemical, bacteriological and biological parameters of the water on a bi-monthly basis.

Dissemination of the coastal water quality results takes place on a regular basis within the MSEA and EEAA, as well as to the concerned coastal governorates. During 2000/2001, the focus of the monitoring program was concerned with the establishment of procedures for further utilisation and dissemination of the collected data. To this end a website was constructed (www.eeaa.gov.eg/eimp), where coastal water quality reports are available on a bi-monthly basis. Moreover, further progress has been accomplished with respect to integrating the coastal water quality database within the information management system of EEAA.

Along with these activities, and with the purpose of safeguarding Egypt's marine ecosystems from oil spills and other pollution accidents at sea, the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan aims at preventing and mitigating the adverse effects of such accidents and spills by setting the framework for the necessary response by various authorities. The management of the plan is based on a partnership between the concerned ministries and authorities such as EEAA, the coastal governorates and the Ministries of Petroleum, Maritime Transport, and Tourism. Its effectiveness relies on the clear allocation of the roles and responsibilities of the different involved bodies, as well as the development of functional working and reporting procedures and the identification of various strategies applicable for different scenarios. EEAA, where the Central Operations Room is located, plays a central role in this respect by coordinating the required intervention and mitigation activities. Within this framework, a number of cases of oil pollution were successfully combated during 2000/2001, as well as accidents involving hazardous substances, the most widely-known of which is the sinking of the Dhalia-S carrier in Abu Qir Bay with a cargo of concentrated nitric acid.

Within the context of the Plan, various activities are carried out on a continuous basis. Thus during 2000/2001, EEAA assisted different oil spill combat centres in upgrading their equipment, and local authorities were assisted in preparing local oil contingency response plans. Moreover, oil spill reports were assessed and assistance provided for the clean-up of damaged sites. This was supplemented with the production of guidelines on shoreline clean up, oily waste management and disposal, as well as procedures for approval of chemicals used to disperse oil spills in open waters. With the aim of maintaining and raising the preparedness for combating oil pollution in the sea, training activities are continuously carried out in cooperation with the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Affairs, targeting the concerned workforce at the different competent ministries and authorities.

The plans for the coming year include an extension of the Oil Spill Contingency Plan to include responses to chemical spills and other kinds of accidental pollution incidents, both at sea and in fresh water. In this respect, one of the main priorities for the coming year is the protection of the River Nile and all fresh water bodies from oil pollution with a particular emphasis to pollution from river transport.

Pollution with Chemicals

20

4

16

Pollution with Oil

4

4

--

Dead Animals

11

1

10

Total

35

9

26