By Seheir Kansouh-Habib Sustainable livelihood is more than mere survival. It means quality life. From time immemorial, life in Egypt has been the envy of all. More recently the country has seen a deterioration in the quality of life mostly confirming the Malthusian theory: the land to man ratio can no longer provide a decent life for all. So what do we do? Family planning, and other population and development initiatives are essential but are no longer a sufficient remedy for all consequential implications of overcrowding. Is density our destiny as the great late Gamal Hamdan once said? Are we to keep our hands tied because of our past mistakes and lack of confidence in our ability to take decisions based on scientific and rational thinking? Can't we learn from the past and go on building our future? In this issue, we are presenting what we, the Editorial Board, believe is a well researched proposal made by a world scientist and son of Egypt, Dr Farouk El-Baz, to meet one of the country's most pressing problems. In addition to various articles relating to diverse areas of concern in today's socio-political and cultural debate, another proposal by Dr Abou Zeid Rageh is presented. Most important, we have solicited and obtained the views of the eminent Professor Dr Roushdy Said as he is opposing Dr El Baz' proposal. From our point of view as development experts and practitioners, albeit non-specialised in desert development, we believe that Dr Said's words of caution are to be taken most seriously. We don't think, however, that this should deter policy makers from exploring the feasibility of Dr El Baz' proposal without delay. His proposal was presented 20 years ago when the private sector was not yet a full partner of Egypt's development. Now things have changed. Private investments can effectively support an initiative that promises a new lease of life for Egypt. New technologies can help minimize past abuses of resources. El Baz' proposal, as shown in the special report (pp7-9), also holds the promise of linking with Sudan, a more than neglected issue, and to perhaps provide some fresh thought on the Toshka initiative that may otherwise count as one of the biggest mistakes of our times. My own word of caution relates to water. Having had the Nile running in our veins for life, we cannot believe it could be endangered. However, most of us seem to be oblivious of the fact that we are importers of water. Our main source lies in the Ethiopian plateau, and the struggle related to water is anticipated to be even fiercer than the struggle over oil. I just returned from Uzbekistan where I saw their main river, the Amu Darya, dry up and Aral Sea turning into a shrinking, salty and dying pool. This was due to political decisions to deviate the course of the river based on short term economic gains, mostly to benefit the ruling power. Let us not fall into the trap of misdirected vision, but let us ponder seriously and act! * The writer is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beyond
