CAIRO: Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE), a local NGO, is working to draw public attention to and stop the implementation of a massive development project on Lake Qarun in Fayoum. Lake Qarun Protectorate, an area rich in nature and culture in the Fayoum Oasis and proposed by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site, is being jeopardized by Amer Group's plans to build Porto Fayoum, according to the NGO. Amer Group had announced in December that it plans to build the project on 650 acres of pristine coast in Fayoum's Lake Qarun Protectorate after buying the land for $28,000 ($.01 per square meter), according to Egypt's American Chamber of Commerce. This is the first development of such massive proportions to be allowed in an Egyptian preserved area, after the Tourism Development Agency took over authority of the land by a presidential decree issued in 1992. “This and other tourism projects planned for a 10-km stretch of coastal land along the northern part of Lake Qarun, 100 km southwest of Cairo, will undoubtedly wreak untold damage to this unspoiled, scenic desert area, known as Gebel Qatrani,” NCE said in a press statement. “You have an incredibly beautiful area of desert which also happens to have evolutionary and cultural history from 40 million years ago until now,” NCE spokesperson, Rebecca Porteous, told Daily News Egypt. “It's the most amazing and rich site from so many different angles,” she said. This area contains one of the world's most complete fossil records of terrestrial primates and marshland mammals and remains critical to the understanding of mammalian and human evolution. Last year, excavations in Gebel Qatrani revealed the complete fossil remains of a prehistoric whale, new to science. It also includes archaeological treasures such as Pharaonic tombs and quarries and the world's most ancient paved road. “All this has been found and hasn't been properly excavated yet, that's a tiny percentage,” Porteous noted. The area is also part of the Birdlife International Important Bird Area, a global partnership of conservation organizations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity. “In one day you can make 40 million years of history,” said Porteous. “Archeologists and scientists from all over the world are screaming and shouting you cannot bulldozer this area,” she pointed out. Gebel Qatrani has been on UNESCO's list for proposed World Heritage Sites. The application was sent back to the local UNESCO world heritage committee, which is under the Council of Higher Education, after they had filed an incomplete application. However, they never responded. “We want it turned into a geopark and then we'll lobby for a proper application by the Egyptian world heritage committee so that it is declared a World Heritage Site,” said Porteous. “Wadi Hitan [Fayoum's Valley of the Whales] is nothing compared to Gebel Qatrani, which is 10 times as precious and valuable, and it's closer to Cairo, so it has the potential to attract proper ecotourism to the area and develop local economy and really benefit the local community,” she explained. Sign a petition NCE wrote a petition on Saturday and managed to get more than 400 signatures within 48 hours online. The petition, which is addressed to the Ministers of Antiquities, Environment, Tourism and Foreign Affairs, highlights five main demands. NCE urges the government to rescind the “illicit” land deal and return this land to the Egyptian people, abolish the Tourism Development Agency (TDA) jurisdiction in the Lake Qarun preserved area, and return the land to the Ministry of Environment's nature conservation department, responsible for Egypt's preserved areas. It also calls on the government to declare the northern part of Lake Qarun to be Egypt's first UNESCO Geopark. The petition also calls for taking steps to protect the area's rich natural and cultural heritage by developing the Geopark's management and infrastructure, turning it into a genuine ecotourism attraction for Fayoum and Egypt; and finally NCE calls for undertaking the necessary measures and procedures to declare the Gebel Qatrani Geopark as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to bring recognition to this area of global importance. NCE launched this campaign in order to safeguard this “blatant violation of laws and international conventions,” according to Mindy Baha El Din, NCE secretary and national expert in nature conservation including in ecotourism “This area offers incredible potential for eco-tourism; if it's turned into a park it will attract more diverse groups of people and will truly benefit the local community,” she said. NCE plans to bring the attention of the prosecutor general and the government to the case, especially considering the price of the land, said Baha El Din. It also plans on having the TDA jurisdiction taken away and give the authority over preserved areas back to Minister of Environment. “Tourists coming [to Lake Qarun] can stay in hotels outside the area or we can set up campsites…if you can't distinguish a protected area from another area then there is no point,” Baha El Din pointed out. NCE will also be working on turning the area into a geopark. “Then the ultimate goal is to make it a World Heritage Site,” she noted. “This area will be ruined if we don't stop them…it is a very important area and it is a shame that these bodies allowed this to take place, it is not in the national interest but due to greed and corruption,” explained Baha El Din. “We have faith in changes taking place in Egypt [and in the] new government to investigate and stop it...worst case scenario, we'll take legal action,” she added.
