Egypt's wildlife faces a dual threat, from profiteering and ignorance, writes Veronica Balderas Iglesias The office of Mahdi A Tolba is a sad zoo. One cage houses a wild cat -- far too large for its aluminum prison; another shelters a fox, and beside it another. And scattered across the room are containers and aquariums with albino scorpions, cobras, an embalmed eagle and a mummified fox. The office -- the headquarters of the Reptiles and Animals Export Office of which Tolba is owner and head -- is cramped and dreary. The animals here are part of a lucrative import and export trade in worldwide flora and fauna. A wolf brings in, on average, $700, an eagle LE10,000. The trade -- for some a way of making good money -- is illegal. It ignores the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, one of the key tools used to determine the status of the Earth's bio- diversity. The list currently includes 11,167 species threatened with extinction, among them species found only in Egypt's deserts and maritime waters. Their endangered status appears to be the result of illegal trade coupled with the almost complete absence of any awareness or respect for the natural habitat of the country's rich non- human population. The Mediterranean sub-population of the short-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, is typical of the problem. Its numbers have declined by more than 50 per cent over the past 30-45 years and it is now listed as "endangered". The Red Sea's population of spinner dolphins is moving in the same direction with conservationists pointing an accusing finger at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada where unregulated dolphin watch tours have proliferated, impacting negatively on both the behaviour patterns and natural habitat of the spinner dolphins. Despite the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency's 2002 ban on anchoring boats the practice, and the watches, continue unabated. The situation in Egypt has caused growing concern among international bodies. The IUCN now lists 28 species in Egypt as "vulnerable" -- ie facing a high risk of extinction in the wild; eight are listed as "endangered"; four as "critically endangered" and one, the Egyptian barbary sheep, as "extinct in the wild". The Egyptian cobra, listed as "endangered", is one of Tolba's most popular exports. Tolba, perfectly happy to speak to Al-Ahram Weekly, somewhat disingenuously argues that his involvement in the lucrative trade is essentially humanitarian, to help students, he insists, who benefit from the creatures he sends to universities and research labs. The authorities do not share Tolba's view of his activities. "They were granted a licence to exhibit reptiles from both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment," said Magdi Allam, general manager of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). But the permit was granted in the context of international exchange programmes organised by the Ministry of Culture and, Allam says, does not grant the right to sell or trade in species. But selling and trading happen. So is it, once more, simply a case of turning a blind eye to infringements of existing legislation? Certainly, there appears to be ample legal protection for the country's flora and fauna. Laws currently include the Environmental Law 4/1994; the international environmental agreements on bio-diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which Egypt signed and ratified in 1978. Implementation of CITES -- overseen by the Egyptian Management Authority -- is, theoretically at least, a diligent process. It is overseen by a national committee headed by the minister of agriculture and land reclamation, a management committee consisting of representatives from 10 ministries and a standing committee which coordinates efforts with representatives from 160 countries and organisations to halt the illegal trade in endangered species. So how is it the trade continues? Chief among the problems, says conservation expert Mindy Bahaaeddin, stems from the authorities' inability to effectively conserve habitat and species outside Egypt's national protectorates. "We don't have a national strategy for wildlife conservation. We don't have any capacities in these areas, a result of the lack of awareness and a lack of manpower to do the necessary field work." She underscores the need for immediate action, particularly with regard to illegal hunting. "You see hunting in protected areas even though laws are in place. The slaughter of birds, to take one example, has been documented by German film crews. Their governments spend millions conserving their own wildlife, then they just come and wipe it out here!" Environmental campaigner Richard Hoath argues that Egyptian Law 4 needs far more rigorous application, "particularly when you hear of hunting parties, local and foreign -- especially Maltese and Italian -- taking species from protected areas such as Lake Qarun in Wadi Al-Rayan in Fayoum." He would also like to see a ban on the trade in wild animals but realises "it is not realistic for one thing: a fair number of people earn their living from it." Many conservationists agree with Hoath, pointing out the difficulties in implementing a complete halt to such trade and hunting. "I am not saying no to trade and no to hunting," Bahaaeddin says. "But let's just manage it properly." Mohamed Ibrahim, general advisor to the Natural Protectorates Department at the National Conservation Sector of the EEAA, argues for far more stringent regulation of the hunting season. The season for birds, he explains, begins from mid-November until the end of April, while reptiles can only be hunted between April until the end of September. Hunting of larger mammals has been forbidden, with the exception of some rodents. But the rules are regularly broken and in a profit driven trade conservationists suggest charging much higher fees, and enforcing existing penalties more diligently. Currently hunters are allowed to use 250 bullets to kill 40 birds. Foreign hunters pay only five dollars for each bird they take out of the country, two dollars for the international CITES certificate and other documents necessary for export. Meanwhile illegal traders face a maximum fine of LE5,000 and the confiscation of their cargoes -- penalties that seldom act as a deterrent. As a consequence, conservationists stress the necessity of reform, and are currently petitioning both the prosecutor-general and the Ministry of Agriculture for a more comprehensive system of implementation of existing legislation, including establishing a special court for environmental affairs.
