Qena is now an internationally recognised pioneer in enviromentally led urban regeneration, reports Reem Nafie A granite statue of a woman holding a sign with the words "Welcome to Qena"-- a city 60 kilometres north from Luxor -- written on it stands in the blazing sun. The trip from Luxor to Qena holds few surprises. The view to the right and left is of simple huts, donkey carts and plantations. The road is bumpy, unpaved, the journey punctuated every two kilometres or so by sleeping policemen. But if the trip comes as no surprise, the approach to Qena does. Rough dirt roads give way to the smoothly paved. Flower-beds line the sidewalks, and in the stifling morning heat janitors dressed in orange bustle through the streets, clearing away every piece of rubbish in sight. Until four years ago Qena had all too obviously been suffering the combined toll of minimal resources, poverty and underdevelopment. In 2000, though, a new governor, Adel Labib, was appointed, and began the process that has since seen the city win two prizes -- the granting of an ISO 14001 certificate, awarded to cities that operate municipal services to internationally recognised environmental standards, and the Mohamed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Award for Arab Management. "Following the changes we engineered in the governorate the Ministry of Environment encouraged us to apply for the ISO 14001 certificate," Governor Adel Labib told Al-Ahram Weekly. Qena was nominated for the certificate in 2002, and for the next two years the plans outlined in the nomination were followed through: for a year and a half Germanischer Llyod Certification, the German body that oversees the awarding of the ISO 14001 certificate, regularly sent inspectors to Qena to ensure that events on the ground measured up to the governorate's ambitious plans. Qena's success in being awarded the ISO 14001 was dependent on implementing a strict, forward-looking environmental management strategy, involving the entire community. The governorate's business plan detailed goals, programmes, a time plan and the resources available in pursuing its aims. Training sessions were held for the team in charge of implementing the plan, and sessions organised for the general public, explaining how the business plan would be fulfilled. "When Germanischer Llyod Certification came for their final inspection in March this year everything was ready," Labib says. The city was suddenly overflowing with trees, flower-beds and gardens as public spaces were systematically upgraded, providing citizens with much-needed outdoor facilities. And to preserve the newly planted gardens LE300 fines were imposed on anyone destroying vegetation. A waste management service was implemented, managed by the municipality rather than an outside management company. The service, which has been running for a year, replaced the waste bins that had been placed in front of buildings. Janitors now collect domestic garbage from every apartment and transport it to a central waste dump outside the governorate. " The system," Labib explains, "creates jobs locally and ensures that the city is free of rubbish." Litter bins are now a prominent feature of streets, and any one caught littering faces an LE300 fine, Labib added. The ISO 14001 certificate also recognised Qena's efforts in renovating buildings, both domestic and public. The governorate's own building was among those renovated: repainted, trees were planted around the entrance and granite floors replaced the old tiles. The decision to shift workshops to an industrial zone on the outskirts of Qena was an important element in the city's plans to reduce air pollution. But what clinched the ISO board's decision were Qena's efforts in restructuring the streets. Not only were the main streets paved and sleeping policemen removed, the smallest alleyways were also upgraded resulting, Labib says, in "the first Egyptian city without a single unpaved street". Last year the Japanese city Cheron won the ISO 14001, and Qena is the first Arab city to be successfully nominated. The validity of the certificate runs until 24 March, 2007, till which date the city will continue to be monitored by Germanischer Llyod Certification. In April, following the award of the ISO 14001, Qena applied for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Award for Arab Management. A file outlining Qena's achievements was prepared and submitted, resulting in Qena being awarded a 25,000-dollar prize for excellence in management performance, and Adel Labib being named Distinguished Arab Management Personality of the year. The prize cited Qena's efforts at urban regeneration and its management of minimum resources to engineer economic, social and environmental changes. "The very visible changes, and international recognition of our ability to engineer change while using minimal resources, is prompting Qena's citizens to change their own habits," said Labib. "We don't want to spoil what we now have. We are keen on preserving the city and making sure it stays clean," Mohamed Sobaih, a father of two enjoying the corniche said. Before, he explains, going out as a family was not part of every day life. But with the increase in public gardens families are now keen to spend more time outside. Children play around the fountains that now decorate the roundabouts on spotless streets. Since Qena changed, explains one of the children, he and his friends have started studying close to the fountains and flowers. "I want women to enjoy themselves and realise that there is more to life than taking care of their house. Society is starting to change and people feel encouraged to get out more. I have hope that Qena's traditions will be modified and soon no one will recognise a difference between citizens from the south and those from Cairo," Labib laughed. Qena's next ambition is to apply for the Best Arab City award in six months.
