In an exclusive interview, Minister of Environment Mamdouh Riyad explains Egypt's environmental balance sheet to Mahmoud Bakr Q: What is the focus of this year's World Environment Day celebrations in Egypt? A: We have been discussing the "black cloud" [a heavy layer of smog that has covered Cairo in past years during the spring and summer seasons] in cabinet meetings. We have agreed to set up a unit to burn rice hay, the burning of which has been identified as the main reason for the cloud -- and produce methane gas for household use. The prime minister will open the unit at the village of Kafr Al-Azzazi, near Abu Hammad in Sharqiya on 5 June, that is, on World Environment Day. The unit will supply 200 to 300 houses with gas, using Chinese technology and expertise. Another unit will open up in Daqahliya. Once tested, the project will be extended to other governorates of Egypt. The ministries of petroleum, military production, and agriculture as well as the Arab Industrialisation Agency are all involved in the project. Q: The disposal, or utilisation, of refuse is one of the main concerns of Egyptian environmentalists, due to the long term pollution and economic concerns involved. How is the government addressing this challenge? A: The issue of refuse is at the top of the agenda of the Ministry of Environment and the government has just embarked on a multi-faceted effort to recycle waste in an economically productive manner. When I took office [two years ago], the first thing the prime minister asked me to do was look into the problem of refuse and find economic solutions. The refuse comes in four main forms: solid, liquid, agricultural, and air- borne. Q: What is the biggest challenge the ministry is facing concerning solid refuse? A: The biggest challenge is the refuse of factories and households. We need to turn the organic part of this refuse into bio-fertilisers. We have modernised the method of processing organic material in cooperation with NGOs in various parts of Egypt. Most of our farms, particularly those in desert areas, need organic fertilisers. We are cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture and using Japanese expertise to produce EM (effective micro-organism) and add it to organic fertilisers. So far, we have succeeded in producing some of the best strains of organic fertilisers. Q: Is there a business opportunity here for young people? A: We are approaching the problem of agricultural refuse from a new angle. We are offering business opportunities for young people, with LE5 million in funding, in cooperation with the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), and the Social Fund for Development (SFD). The project is all about young people utilising agricultural refuse scientifically and producing useful substances. The project will create thousands of summer job opportunities and involve the young in environmental issues. It will help us utilise agricultural refuse and reduce pollution. We will provide young people with the technical means, machinery, and technical advice in this regard. Q: Have you taken any measures to clean Cairo's air from pollutants, particularly the cement dust that is a major source of pollution in southern Cairo? A: A plan has been made to get rid of cement air-borne pollutants through the creation of two production lines for street tiles and sheet glass, two products in which cement dust is a useful ingredient. The two projects will be inaugurated on 5 June. A pilot project for producing glass containers is underway in a small manual factory in Sars Al-Layan in Menufiya. The project has been a great success so far, and the product is currently being exported to Japan, Denmark and Italy. Within weeks we will sign several contracts with Austrian investors to process cement dust and produce glass. Cement will be used to pave a road in an Egyptian village at low cost. I have made a point of paying a cement factory in Tora (southern Cairo) to provide the first consignment, 50 tonnes, of cement dust. The message is out that cement dust, while a possible pollutant, is of economic value. Q: How about timber-production? Is this effort in any way related to liquid refuse management? A: A few days ago we received a letter from the UN inviting us to a meeting in Geneva to present our experience on the safe use of treated sewage water. I am excited about this for it is conceivable that Egypt could turn into a country exporting timber. Our climate is suitable for the fast growth of trees. It takes three to five years for a tree to reach maturity here, as compared to up to 10 years in other African countries. Egypt's use of treated sewage water in irrigating these forests brings down the cost of farming, which is good for business as well as the environment. In addition, some Arab and African investors have expressed interest in buying land in Luxor to start forestery projects. We are currently cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture to plant a commercial crop tree, called Jetropha, on 200 feddans. The black seeds of this tree are used to produce bio-diesel oil, a source of energy that is in international demand. We are also using treated sewage in a silkworm project at the Serabium Forest in Ismailia. This is the best way of recycling refuse in an economic manner. I am so fond of this effort that I have encouraged my daughter to prepare her master's thesis on the use of sewage water in man-made forests.
