Countries

Forestry policies, institutions and programmes

Administration
The Undersecretariat for Afforestation and Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation leads the afforestation and forest management activities in Egypt. It has representative offices in all governorates. The major duties of the undersecretariat are to issue directives for afforestation and forestry activities; to supply tree seeds and seedlings; to introduce new tree species; to issue decrees on tree protection; to extend training services and produce afforestation bulletins; and to afforest reclaimed desert areas.

Policies
A national Afforestation and Forestry Action Plan has been developed to assist in preventing soil erosion, re-establishing the natural balance between soil and vegetation cover, reducing air pollution, protecting cultivable lands and human settlements from wind and combating desertification. The plan is carried out mainly by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Irrigation, the General Authority for Roads and Bridges, the Ministry of Environment and local administrative authorities. The general programme includes planting trees along freshwater and drainage canals, highways and streets; expanding planted forests in newly reclaimed areas; establishing protective green belts around large cities and ring roads; stabilizing sand dunes in coastal areas and inland; improving environmental conditions and ultimately combating desertification.

The major activities of the Afforestation and Forestry Action Plan are as follows:

• design of a new policy whose salient objectives are preservation of existing trees, raising production capacity of private nurseries and increasing afforested areas on an annual basis;
• increasing afforested areas through afforestation plans;
• maintaining balance between agriculture, afforestation and timber requirements;
• allocation of specific sites for tree planting;
• encouraging research and studies in the area of afforestation.

The action plan faces a number of natural and economic constraints. The natural constraints arise from the harsh environmental conditions which prevail in most parts of the country. The economic constraints include the continuous removal of trees for agricultural, residential and industrial expansion, shortage of financial resources, the high cost of afforestation activities and the lack of expertise regarding forest products.

International activities
In terms of international cooperation, Egypt receives funds for forestry development, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, from several donors as well as through the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The funds are allocated mainly to enhancing tree plantations, such as windbreaks, and to establishing and maintaining forest tree nurseries, as well as to fixation of sand dunes and combating desertification. In this connection, Egypt has also received funds from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Ford Foundation to introduce new multipurpose trees on the northern coast. Finland has provided funding for establishment of modern nurseries.

A campaign for mass participation in tree planting, involving the mass media, educational curricula and non-governmental organizations, has been undertaken to raise awareness and participation of the general public in tree planting, desertification control and environmental issues.

Egypt is committed to a number of agreements on environmental protection and natural resources conservation as well as desertification and drought.

Last updated: March 2004