وزيرة البيئة: الوزارة سارت بخطى منهجية متزنة وفعالة لتحقيق التنمية المستدامة

Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, reviewed a report on the Ministry’s efforts for the year 2023 to contribute to improving air quality, as the Ministry has made great efforts in the field of environmental monitoring of levels of ambient air pollutants, facility emissions, vehicle exhausts, and various noise levels, with the aim of identifying the types of pollution observed, its causes and sources, and identifying the most affected areas. To develop the necessary plans and programs to improve air quality at the level of the governorates of the Republic.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad explained that the Ministry has proceeded at a balanced and effective methodological pace to achieve the goals of the sustainable development strategy and the main verification indicator regarding air quality, which includes reducing the percentage of pollution with solid particles with a diameter of less than 10 micrometers in Greater Cairo and the Delta and reaching 50% by 2030 compared to the base year of 2015 ( 157 micrograms/m3, as this was achieved by reaching a rate of reducing pollution with solid particles with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres in Greater Cairo and the Delta, which reached a rate of 31.8% during the year 2022, as it was planned to reach a reduction rate of 25% by the year 2025, and thus the set target was met. For the year 2025, a 50% reduction in concentrations of solid particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers was achieved during the year 2022 compared to 2015.

The Minister of Environment added that the Ministry monitors air quality through a number of procedures, including the National Network for Monitoring Ambient Air Pollutants, where the number of air pollutant monitoring stations has reached 121 monitoring stations distributed across all different regions of the Republic. Environmental monitoring operations have also been carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum from During the deployment of a mobile air pollutant monitoring station within the Egyptian General Organization for Standardization to determine the current situation in the East Cairo region in response to complaints from some citizens about the spread of a suffocating odor at night, the number of industrial facilities linked to the national network for monitoring industrial emissions reached 95 industrial facilities with 477 monitoring points, including Many industrial sectors, such as the cement industry, fertilizer manufacturing, and electric power generation.

The Minister of Environment explained that the early warning system at the Ministry of Environment includes all populated and environmentally sensitive areas of the Arab Republic of Egypt, with 58 study points that are updated daily and published on the early warning page on the Ministry of Environment’s website, where the early warning system analyzes and evaluates monitoring data generated from pollutant monitoring networks. The air environment of the Environmental Affairs Agency, whether the National Network for Monitoring Ambient Air Pollutants or the National Network for Monitoring Industrial Emissions Essentially, also contributes to analyzing and evaluating air emissions resulting from various activities and predicting the effects of weather factors and the ability to dissipate them, such as the activities of burning agricultural and municipal waste, in addition to establishing Ambient air modeling application is a service application that extracts meteorological data from WRF files and conducts virtual dispersion experiments. It also draws dispersion for existing facilities for long periods.

The Minister of Environment added that the number of stations of the national network for monitoring environmental noise levels has been increased to 43 stations, and cooperation was also undertaken with the Faculty of Engineering – Helwan University to prepare a study on the effect of traffic density on environmental noise levels in the neighborhoods of Heliopolis, New Cairo, and Al-Moez Street, and to prepare a study. To evaluate environmental noise levels in metro stations – Line 3, in cooperation with the National Tunnels Authority.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad continued that the efforts of the vehicle exhaust reduction system were able, during the year 2023, to implement a number of (572) campaigns to examine vehicle exhaust on the road, where a number of (29,064) vehicles were examined, in coordination with the General Administration of Traffic and the General Administration of Environment and Landscaping Police at the Ministry. The Ministry of Interior also re-examined the vehicle exhaust technical center for (6565) vehicles, in addition to completing the implementation of the annual program to inspect all buses affiliated with the Public Transport Authority in Cairo, where a number of (18) garages were inspected (978) buses, and a program to inspect the fleet was implemented. A total of 579 buses from public transportation companies, and completing the implementation of the Ministry’s plan to replace and renew old, dilapidated buses whose operational lifespan has exceeded 20 years with new buses.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad explained that with regard to efforts to confront severe air pollution episodes in 2023, known in the media as “the black cloud,” the Ministry of Environment has made great efforts in cooperation with the relevant authorities in order to control this phenomenon. During the year 2023, approximately 2,850 million tons of straw were collected. rice, and collecting 195 thousand acres of Levantine sorghum stover waste, 64 thousand acres of sorghum stover waste from the total cultivated area in Assiut Governorate, in addition to intensifying campaigns to inspect vehicle exhausts, as the total number of vehicles that were inspected in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior reached 7,153 vehicles, and inspection Approximately 2,965 small establishments were inspected, ranging from a coal factory, a foundry, a brick factory, and another. 106 major establishments were also inspected, and the implementation of the governors’ decisions to close polluting establishments during periods of severe air pollution bouts was followed up. 3,900 awareness-raising activities were also carried out. .

The Minister of Environment added that the Air Pollution and Climate Change Management Project in Greater Cairo, which is financed by a loan from the World Bank worth $200 million, with the aim of reducing the emission of air pollutants and climate change in vital sectors in Greater Cairo and enhancing the ability to optimally manage and confront air pollution, consists of 6 components, including the component The first is related to strengthening air quality management and response system, which supports the implementation of 6 main activities, through which a number of activities were implemented during the year 2023, namely preparing and updating work plans for the year 2023-2026, and implementing a workshop to launch and begin preparing a plan for integrated climate and air quality management (IC-AQMP). ), and launching an international tender to implement “preparing a plan for integrated climate and air quality management (IC-AQMP),” and also contracting with the Cyprus Institute to implement each of the first activities related to “establishing a network for monitoring short-term climate pollutants and greenhouse gases.” The sixth activity is to provide technical support to the newly developed EEAA network for monitoring and assigning pollutants to their sources, and chemical analyzes carried out by the EEAA and Cairo University.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad added that the second component includes supporting the activation of the master plans for solid waste management in Greater Cairo. The component has implemented a number of activities during the year 2023, the most important of which is issuing and awarding a tender to implement the infrastructure works for the integrated waste management facility in the 10th of Ramadan City to Al Shams Contracting Company. Conducting environmental surveys for the industrial sector in the Al-Aqrasha area in Qalyubia Governorate to carry out its environmental development, completing studies on construction and demolition waste activities, and hazardous and medical waste, completing technical studies and a feasibility study for the safe closure of the Abu Zaabal solid waste landfill in Qalyubia Governorate, and also contracting with a consulting company to conduct a review of the system. Management of medical care waste in the university hospitals that were selected to participate in the project, which are: the French Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital and the Ain Shams Specialized Hospital.

The third component is concerned with reducing emissions of public transportation vehicles and is based on a pilot project for electric buses (100 buses) for the benefit of the Cairo Public Transport Authority. During the year 2023, the component completed multi-criteria studies, which included a study of 19 garages and 78 lines for passenger buses at the Public Transport Authority. The best 5 garages were recommended to implement the project (Imbaba, Badr, Al-Basateen, Foum Al-Khaleej, and Al-Mazalat) according to different standards. The Public Transport Authority bus garage in the Al-Amiriya area was chosen to be converted into a garage for buses that operate on electric power. Possibilities of providing the required electrical power and studies related to developing the garage infrastructure and the costs related to that are currently being investigated, and the proposed alternatives are being evaluated and analyzed to measure both emissions of solid particles less than 2.5 micrometres and black carbon emissions resulting from fuel combustion during the operation of diesel buses, and recommending the optimal alternative “installing The emission monitoring system is carried on selected buses, and the fourth component is related to enhancing capabilities, behavioral change, and communication. It implemented a set of activities during the year 2023, which included preparing a workshop on “behavioral science training,” implementing a set of consultative meetings with the project’s stakeholders to familiarize them with the project’s environmental and social requirements, and implementing A number of listening sessions with waste collectors in Qalyubia to learn about their opinions and concerns regarding the development of the solid waste management system in Qalyubia Governorate and take them into account as much as possible.

The Minister of Environment added that the fifth component includes project management, monitoring and evaluation (9.8 million US dollars) and supports strengthening the operational, credit and technical capabilities of the Project Coordination Unit. During the year 2023, the component carried out a number of works, including preparing the project operating manual, preparing estimated and actual budgets and submitting financial reports to the donor. Or the various planning authorities and regulatory bodies in the country, developing a system to manage complaints of all those working on the project and activating them, and preparing and activating a system to manage complaints of stakeholders within the scope of the project (Greater Cairo). The sixth component includes improving the management of electronic waste and medical care waste to reduce emissions of non-persistent organic compounds. Intended Additional Funding (UPOPs) is a grant from the Global Environment Facility of $9.13 million.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad also emphasized making every effort to double the per capita share of green spaces nationwide, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gases, and achieve the maximum economic benefit from trees, as the year 2023 witnessed the completion of the project to afforest the villages of the Egyptian countryside (Haya Karima). In its first and second phases, 500,000 trees were planted in the governorates of the Republic, and work was carried out to raise the efficiency of the Central Nursery of the Ministry of Environment in its first and second phases, and providing support with trees to civil associations, schools, universities, institutes, neighborhoods, mosques, and churches during the year 2023, with a number of 100,000 trees, in addition to starting work on Afforestation of the industrial zone in Shaq Al-Tha’ban, which is allocated 4,400 trees. Afforestation work has begun in the first kilometer of the area by planting 400 trees to improve air quality and reduce emissions, dust, and dirt, and implementing the afforestation work for the presidential initiative of 100 million trees, where during the year 2023, 1.3 million were planted. A tree during the first year of the initiative and implementation of the work by 100%, and participation in the planting works of the Central Security Sector on the Cairo-Suez Road, where no less than 6,500 ornamental and fruit trees were planted to serve the sector and show the aesthetic and cultural appearance of the Central Security Sector, and also planting trees at Hurghada Airport. International Airport and Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport with 7,000 trees (3,500 trees for each airport) to show the airport in a decent and honorable appearance, as well as to reduce emissions.