INTRODUCTION

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Development Associations (CDAs) are active throughout Egypt. In Sohag and Dakahleya Governorates, they are mostly involved in health, education, literacy, water supply, sanitation, and also in credit, handicrafts and income generation. Much of their work has concentrated on low income and poorly served rural settlements.

Environmental awareness and capacity building are among the top priority issues mentioned in the Sohag and Dakahleya Governorate Environmental Action Plans (GEAPs). Based on a request from NGOs in Sohag and Dakahleya, support was provided through SEAM to strengthen their capabilities to develop environmental project proposals that would be robust enough to attract financial support. Seventeen NGOs and CDAs from Sohag and
Dakahleya attended training provided by SEAM.

ISSUES

Both NGOs and CDAs act on behalf of rural and urban communities. They are therefore able to:

• Develop and promote the local environmental concerns of these communities towards governmental agencies, foreign donors and other sources of financial support.
• Encourage community action to address environmental issues. The Governorate Environmental Action Plan shows that there are many environmental issues that could be addressed through community-based actions.

Discussions with NGOs and CDAs in both Governorates indicated a lack of experience in developing successful proposals for the variety of funding sources available for community based environmental projects. It was also apparent that coordination between different NGOs, CDAs and Government also needed strengthening.

Concerns and issues that arose and which were addressed by the training workshop activities were:

• Develop an understanding of community needs with respect to different types of environmental actions.
• Insufficient capability within NGOs/CDAs to initiate environmental projects that address community needs.
• Need to strengthen NGO/CDA capacity to prepare and articulate sound proposals that can attract and meet the requirements of available funding sources.
• Lack of knowledge of donor’s criteria for funding community-based environmental projects.
• The need to address sustainability issues in NGO and CDA activities.
• The need to develop better co-operation and partnerships between NGOs, CDAs and Government.

 

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