Egypt, a country where pharaohs once commanded the Nile and cats enjoyed diplomatic immunity, is now wrestling with modern environmental challenges that no ancient scribe could have predicted. The nation faces a complex tangle of issues: rapid urbanization, shrinking green spaces, plastic waste that seems to multiply like desert mirages, and the slow but steady warming of the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Add to that the annual drama of the Nile — too much water, too little water, or water carrying things that nobody wants to swim with — and you have a country navigating a delicate ecological tightrope.
But Egypt isn’t just struggling; it’s also innovating. And some of its most creative solutions come not from ministries but from civil society. Nature Conservation Egypt is one of the country’s leading environmental NGOs, championing bird protection, wetland conservation, and the survival of migratory species that treat Egypt like an airport lounge on their way between continents. Their fieldwork in places like Lake Qarun and the Red Sea wetlands has quietly shaped policy for years.
Then there’s HEPCA — the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association — a powerhouse NGO guarding the Red Sea’s coral reefs from overfishing, careless tourism, and the occasional boat captain who mistakes a reef for a parking spot. HEPCA’s mooring buoy system has become a regional model, proving that even popular tourist hubs can protect biodiversity when the rules are clear and the buoys are bright blue.
New sustainability movements are popping up too: youth-led recycling initiatives in Cairo, clean-energy startups in Alexandria, gardens and hydroponics farms on rooftops and Nile cleanup campaigns that feel half environmental crusade, half street festival. Egypt’s ambitious Benban Solar Park, one of the largest in the world, shows what national-scale renewable energy can look like when the sun cooperates — and in Egypt, it usually does. Almost every day is a beach day.
BenBan Solar Park from above. The Benban Solar Park has a total installed capacity of 1.65 gigawatts (GW). It’s one of the largest solar installations in the world and a major pillar of Egypt’s renewable-energy strategy.
Eco-challenges remain big, but the momentum is growing. In true Egyptian style, progress arrives with a mix of determination, improvisation, and just enough humor to survive the heat.
Sheikh Ali Gomaa is the Grand Mufti of Egypt issuing environmental fatwas. Sheikh Ali Gomaa is the Grand Mufti of Egypt since September 2003 and one of the highest ranking and respected religious authorities throughout the Sunni world. He holds the second highest religious position in Egypt, after that of Sheikh al-Azhar. As the Grand […]
Looking deeper into the pitfalls and promise of Desertec at Dii conference in Cairo. Green Prophet’s Tafline is there and reports from the field. Instead of scrambling to find funds and legislative support for the Desertec initiative, a handful of people gathered at the Dii conference in Cairo to explore the project’s overall environmental sustainability. […]
Desertec is a $500 billion solar project to catch Middle East and Africa sun. Tafline is currently at the Desertec Dii conference in Cairo, reporting from the field. Above is Dii’s CEO Paul van Son addressing the Dii conference Just two years ago, Desertec was merely a pin prick of an idea conceived to tap […]
As the dust of revolution settles in Egypt, the country is beginning to face some of its other challenges. Chief among these is a scarcity of water. In fact, by 2017, demand is projected to outpace the country’s supply. At the American University in Cairo (AUC) last week, dozens of water and technology experts convened […]
Ethiopia and other African countries upstream have plans to divert Nile River water. What does this mean for Egypt? Leaking water pipes, evaporation and a rapidly growing population may be significant concerns for those trying to manage and plan water supplies in Egypt, but compounding such problems – and forcing Egyptians to rethink how they […]
Regional Etsy shops unite to form old-fashioned collaborative studios, online. Etsy, the online handmade and vintage shopping platform, has done amazing things to help people buy handmade, eco-friendly and local products. Artisans who are marketing their own products can easily set up online shops on the site, and on the buying end, Etsy has made […]
Instead of standard apples and honey, put some creative green thought into your Rosh Hashanah gifts this year. The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah 2011 is quickly approaching next week on September 28, and for many Jewish people this is a time of gift-giving in the new Jewish calendar year 5772. Gift giving is […]
Turtles were considered evil in ancient Egypt. Locals apparently still haven’t forgot. Human desire for the rare and exotic repast knows no boundaries. And while most Middle Easterners are happy eating domesticated animals such as the cow, and chicken, there are no limits on what they are willing to eat, and offer for dinner. Just […]
Eco-tourism holidays in Lebanon offer picturesque fishing villages and ancient remains British walking holidays specialist Ramblers Worldwide has added Lebanon to its list of destinations, according to a recent announcement. Ramblers Worldwide have long included Jordan, Morocco, Oman and other Middle East and North African destinations on their itineraries, although some scheduled trips to Egypt […]
Politics has long slowed the adoption of more solar in Egypt. This week, a milestone. This week, Spain’s Iberdrola pulled the switch on Egypt’s first combination solar and gas power plant, a 150 MW Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plant in Kuraymat, Egypt, one of just four that was selected worldwide for funding by […]
Third act of sabotage in 5 months may spell the end of Egyptian natural gas shipments of both Israel and Jordan. Egypt’s natural gas pipeline to both Israel and Jordan suffered still another setback during the night when a third act of sabotage caused an explosion. This is three attacks since the beginning of the […]
If you buy vegetables in Cairo, they could be contaminated with human waste. Faced with a shortage of water for irrigation (and the fact it might lose its right to the Nile), Ahmed Osman, a farmer in his late thirties, opted to divert local sewage water to irrigate his two-hectare vegetable plot in the heart […]
Expect to see more of these as Suez Cement secures its long term viability in Egypt with private wind farm. The good news? Egypt is getting its first privately owned wind farm. The not so green news? It will be used to generate power for Suez Cement, a company owned by the Italian corporation Italcementi. […]
The international aid and development organization Oxfam recently revealed some alarming facts and future predictions on world hunger, warning that the world faces a real crisis in agricultural production and nutrition, with climate change exacerbating the crisis. The Middle East is cited as a “taste of what may be to come” as rising food costs […]
Political stability, as well as sunshine is needed for Desertec solar projects. The “Arab Spring” uprisings that have turned several Middle Eastern countries literally upside down may actually become a boost for the Desertec solar energy project that could eventually provide much needed electrical power to several Middle East North Africa countries – and Europe […]