In the framework of the Egyptian-Italian environmental cooperation programme, a twinning agreement has been signed between the Wadi Al-Rayan protectorate in Fayoum and the Italian National Park of the Gran Sasso and the Laga Mountains, writes Mahmoud Bakr According to Professor Mustafa Fouda, head of Nature Conservation at the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Wadi Al-Rayan protectorate needs permanent supervision by trained personnel to ensure that environmental laws are enforced. Rangers will be posted in the area to coordinate with locals and report any violations. Experts, researchers and vehicles are needed to implement the environmental plan for the protectorate, he added. Fouda said the Wadi Al-Rayan protectorate has asked the World Heritage Organisation to list it as a global heritage area and is awaiting approval. The area has been placed under new regulations requiring visitors to obtain permits and be escorted by a ranger during sightseeing. A special area, just outside the protectorate, will be assigned for overnight accommodation. Cars will be banned from entering the protectorate, save for vehicles specified by the director of protectorates. In order to encourage environmental tourism in the area, Fouda reveals that an "ecolodge" will be built just outside the protectorate. Plans are underway to develop the local community's ability to produce handicrafts and supply visitors with food and accommodation. A visitors' centre and an open museum are in planning. Fouda added that a scientific research cooperation agreement has been reached with the University of Michigan. The agreement will allow young people to receive training both in Egypt and the US. The most recent discovery in the protectorate, a skeleton of a whale, is now in Michigan where it will undergo examination for two years. A model of the whale will be exhibited in the proposed museum. There is a need for an agency for the protection of nature, Fouda said. The EEAA plans to focus in 2005-2006 on the valley of the whales. Signposts will be placed in the valley, as well as light structures that will be used to provide various necessary services. For his part, the president of the Italian National Park of the Gran Sasso and the Laga Mountains, Walter Mazzitti, said the Gran Sasso is situated 3,000 feet above ground and is one of the major national parks in Europe. According to the twinning agreement, Italy is providing $100,000 to survey the entire Wadi Al-Rayan area. Italy will also provide expertise and guidance on how visitors may best access the area. There should be one main entry point for Wadi Al-Rayan, so that access to the protectorate would be regulated, the Italian official said. Signs will be placed for several kilometres on the road leading to the protectorate and detailed directions for visitors will also be posted. All of this is scheduled for the next four months. The visitors' centre in the Wadi Al-Rayan lake area will be rehabilitated and provided with books and brochures. The protectorate's website will be updated, the Italian environmentalist said. A system of administration for the protectorate is being developed, and plans are underway to train Egyptians to manage the protectorate. Italy will send its first trainer to Egypt within a month. Some 5,000 local families will be given information on how to preserve the surrounding nature, as well as technical assistance on how to plant new crops. Similar methods have been successfully implemented in the Gran Sasso. This is the first time ever, the Italian official revealed, that the Gran Sasso has undertaken a twinning agreement with another natural preserve.
