Egypt's Environment Minister Yassmin Fouad said on Thursday that Egypt has a rich natural heritage and that nature protectorates cover 15 percent of Egypt's total land area. Egypt is home to diverse ecosystems and its nature reserves are quite varied, she said, underlining the importance of developing their infrastructure and potential. Fouad made the remarks during a meeting with students of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport in Alexandria. She pointed out that the political leadership attaches a great importance to developing nature tourism and promoting public awareness about environmental protection.