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1- The Nile Valley and Delta (approx. 33,000 Km2)
It extends from the North Valley to the Mediterranean Sea and is
divided into Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, extending from Wadi Halfa
to the south of Cairo and from North Cairo to the Mediterranean Sea.
The River Nile in the north is divided into two branches, Damietta
and Rachid embracing the highly fertile agricultural lands of the
Delta.
2- The Western Desert (approx. 680,000 Km2)
Extends from the Nile Valley in the East to the Libyan borders in
the west, and from the Mediterranean in the north to the Egyptian
southern boarders.
It is divided into:
- The Northern Section: it includes the coastal plain, the northern
plateau and the Great Depression, the Natroun Valley and Baharia
Oasis.
- The Southern Section: it includes Farafra, Kharga, Dakhla, and El-Owainat
in the far south.
3- The Eastern Desert (approx. 325,000 Km2)
It extends from the Nile Valley in the West to the Red Sea, Suez
gulf, and Suez Canal in the East, and from Lake Manzala on the
Mediterranean in the North to Egypt's southern borders with Sudan in
the south. The Eastern Desert is marked with the Eastern Mountains
that range along the Red Sea with peaks that rise to about 3000 feet
above the sea level. This desert is a store of Egyptian natural
resources including various ores such as gold, coal, and oil.
4- Sinai Peninsula (approx. 61,000 Km2)
Sinai has a triangular shape having its base at the Mediterranean in
the North and its apex in the South at Ras Mohammed, the Gulf of
Aqaba to the East and the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal to the west.
It is topographically divided into three main sections:
- The southern section: it involves extremely tough terrain that is
composed of high-rise granite mountains. Mount Catherine rises about
2640 meters above sea level, thus making it the highest mountaintop
in Egypt.
- The Central section: it comprises the area bounded by the
Mediterranean to the North.
- At-Teeh plateau to the south: it is a plain area having abundant
water resources derived from rainwater flowing from southern heights
to the central plateau.
Climate:
The Egyptian climate is influenced by the factors of location,
topography, and general system for pressure and water surfaces.
These aspects affect Egypt's climate dividing it into several
regions. Egypt lies in the dry equatorial region except its northern
areas located within the moderate warm region with a climate similar
to that of the Mediterranean region. It is warm and dry in the
summer and moderate with limited rainfall increasing at the coast in
winter. The annual average day and nighttime temperatures in Lower
and Upper Egypt is 20 and 25, and 7 and 17 respectively.
Water Resources:
Egypt depends on three main sources; the River Nile water, rain fall
and floods in addition to ground water.
Mineral & Oil Resources:
Egypt is endowed with a fortune of important metals such as
phosphates, raw iron and oil.
Development and the Environment:
Sustainable development entails a pattern of growth in which economic, social, as well as environmental conditions are equally considered and carefully balanced, leading to living standards for future generations which are no worse off, if not better, than present ones. In this respect, environmental protection and a balanced use of natural resources must constitute an integral part of the development process. In Egypt, as the available natural resources must support a rapidly increasing population, sound management of such resources, together with a continuous improvement of the protection of the environment are an evident necessity.
The Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs (MSEA) with its executive agency, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), meet this challenge by continuously striving for the integration of the environmental dimension into national policies, plans and lines of action. This is carried out with an immediate focus on the reduction of pollution and the conservation of Egypt's natural resources through effective environmental management.
Environmental Authority:
In June 1997, the responsibility of Egypt's first full time Minister of State for Environmental Affairs was assigned as stated in the Presidential Decree no.275/1997. From thereon, the new Ministry of Sate for Environmental Affairs (MSEA) has focused, in close collaboration with the national and international development partners, on defining environmental policies, setting priorities and implementing initiatives within a context of sustainable development.
According to the Law 4/1994 for the Protection of the Environment, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) was restructured with the new mandate to substitute the institution initially established by Presidential Decree No. 631 of the year 1982. EEAA represents the executive arm of the Ministry.
MSEA and EEAA are the highest authority in Egypt responsible for promoting and protecting the environment, and coordinating adequate responses to these issues.
Minister of State for Environmental Affairs: Eng. Maged George Elias Ghattas
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The "State of Environment Report" of the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE) was issued for the first time in 2004 as a significant step in the political environmental commitment of the Government of Egypt (GoE). This comes in the framework of Egypt’s political leadership keenness on incorporating the environmental dimension in all fields for achieving sustainable development, and from its belief that protecting the environment has become a necessary requirement to protect the people’s health and empowering it to achieve optimum utilization of natural resources, and in application of Law no. 4/1994 on Environment Protection and its executive regulation, which stipulates in its Chapter Two on developing an annual "State of Environment" report to be submitted to HE The President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers, with a copy deposited with the People’s Assembly.
This report comes as an outcome of the efforts of many competent experts and those concerned with the environment in Egypt, as well as organizations, ministries, and line ministries that collaborated with the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs (MSEA) in developing this report. The scientific approach used in drafting this report is in compliance with the International Environmental Outlook Report, and includes a comprehensive analysis of all information and data collected from various environmental elements in Egypt.
(Quote from Egypt State of the Environment Report 2004)
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