Al Hisas, a village in Egypt's northern Dakahlia Governorate, has become the fifth community nationwide to receive the Tarsheed Green Rural Communities Certificate, as the government steps up efforts to embed environmental standards in its rural development agenda. The certification was awarded as part of the Green Village Initiative, a pillar of Egypt's flagship Decent Life (Hayah Karima) Programme — a multibillion-pound national project aimed at upgrading living conditions and infrastructure across the Egyptian countryside. The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, which oversees the initiative, said in a statement on Wednesday that the award marks progress in aligning local communities with global green building and sustainability benchmarks. The programme works in coordination with the World Green Building Council, and the certification recognises villages that meet stringent environmental performance criteria. Green economy in focus Planning Minister Rania Al-Mashat said the move reflects Egypt's broader push to embed environmental sustainability in its development model, as set out in Vision 2030. "A comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable ecosystem is a fundamental pillar of balanced national growth," she noted, adding that the government is actively increasing the share of green investment in its public spending portfolio. The Green Village Initiative, alongside other platforms such as the NWFE Programme for green projects and the Smart Green Projects Initiative, forms part of Cairo's strategy to advance climate justice and foster environmentally conscious local governance. Al Hisas leads in rural transformation The selection of Al Hisas was based on multiple criteria, including: * Full access to essential services such as clean water, sanitation, and natural gas * Energy-saving public lighting and reduced carbon emissions * Expansion of green public spaces and gardens * Creation of composting units for waste recycling * Infrastructure for people with disabilities and transport links to nearby towns According to the ministry, 22 development projects are currently underway in the village, 20 of which have already been completed. These include a government services complex, youth centre, post office, school upgrades, and healthcare facilities, in addition to extended fibre-optic networks, mobile connectivity, and sanitation infrastructure. Al Hisas joins a growing list of villages awarded the Tarsheed certification, including Fares (Aswan, 2022), Nahtay (Gharbia, 2023), Shama (Menoufia, 2024), and El-Liwaa Sobeih (2025). The push for greener villages is part of Egypt's effort to decentralise sustainability practices and localise the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a move that is gaining increasing relevance as the country navigates the twin pressures of population growth and climate vulnerability. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
