For eight years now, a monster has haunted Egypt around this time of year: Mahmoud Bakr looks into the latest plans to get rid of it October brings memories of the black cloud, with citizens hoping and praying the monster wouldn't visit them again. Disappointment -- people with breathing problems in particular have continued to suffer at the hands of smoke, originating in the burning of rice hay in the Nile Delta; the process is exacerbated by the phenomenon of stagnant wind. Legal action has been taken against 70 farmers accused of violating environmental regulations in Sharqiya, with the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs (MESA) and local authorities -- having encouraged plans to recycle rice hay -- now planning to close down 104 coal factories along the Ismailia Canal. But the black cloud has persisted. Not one star can be seen in the Cairo sky, but MESA believes the quality of the air has improved nonetheless. This year, it is believed, northern and northwestern winds of moderate speed have helped reduce the pollution. Periods of stagnant wind have not exceeded six hours a day throughout September, and air quality has been better than at the same time last year. This -- the MESA has claimed -- is due to reduced rice-hay pollution. Dust has been better than last year, too: 2007 readings have placed it at 70-150 microgrammes per cubic metre, compared to 70-190 last year. Compared to 15 hours last year, the maximum amount of time during which the reading exceeded 200 microgrammes per cubic m during the second half of September has been one hour. Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George says sources of pollution, especially agricultural and industrial fire, are under close monitoring. In September alone, MESA and other government departments spotted and extinguished 13 fires of agricultural, 77 of municipal and 22 of industrial refuse. One argument recently publicised in the media is that air pollution is caused in large part by car exhaust, with over 3.5 million vehicles daily roaming the streets. Joint teams of MESA and the Ministry of Interior (MOI) have spot checked 3,294 vehicles in Cairo and found 40 per cent of them in violation of exhaust regulations; 55 per cent of public transport buses, and 112 of 155 industrial firms were also in violation of environmental regulations. Besides imposing punishments and sending the vehicles in question to be repaired, a plan to scrap taxis aged over 25 years -- to be replaced by natural-gas fuelled vehicles -- is in process. George says the ministry signed a protocol with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) to implement the second phase of a project aiming to replace 1,000 old taxis in Cairo with new ones running on gas. "Old vehicles are one of the greatest sources of air pollution in large cities," George told Al-Ahram Weekly, "due to the large amounts of hydrocarbons and solid particles they emit. The project aims at improving fuel efficiency, reducing maintenance requirements and enhancing the fluidity of traffic." George estimates the economic benefits of the new project at LE640 million per year, noting that the annual reduction in emissions will amount to 5,000 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide, 3,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide, and 250 tonnes of solid particles. The government is subsidising the project with LE200 million over three years. Owners of old taxis and minibuses will be given LE10,000 and LE15,000 each to help them buy new, environmentally friendly vehicles. According to Ahmed Abul-Saoud, director of the Central Agency for Environmental Quality Control, says a pilot project involving the replacement of 100 taxis has already been successfully implemented. MESA has earmarked LE1.9 million to finance incentives for drivers to replace their vehicles. The ministry now has applications from 1,500 drivers wanting to participate in the second stage of the project. About 1,000 of them will be selected for the programme. The Ministry of Finance has agreed to finance five stages of the project, each involving 1,000 vehicles, and providing LE5 million in subsidies to entice taxi drivers to replace their vehicles, while MESA is providing LE1 million to the same end. Participants will be provided with credit facilities and will not be required to provide collateral, so long as they pay 25 per cent of the price in advance, with the rest covered by a 7.5 per cent interest loan. Drivers will be offered insurance at a favourable rate but must hand over their old vehicles for recycling.
