CAIRO: Because the poor and marginalized segments of society are the most vulnerable to environmental damage, the concept of poverty-environment mainstreaming was born. Developing countries are susceptible to environmental degradation and resource depletion due to the high social and economic cost of environmental hazards. That is why integrating environmental and local development efforts will not only benefit the community's economy and environment, but is also crucial to overcoming poverty. Towards this effort, the Hanns Seidel Foundation launched the Win-Win Initiative in the Middle East and North Africa to promote activities which tackle both human and environmental interests in the sustainable development process. The Hanns Seidel Foundation is a German foundation which practices democratic and civic education. The two main issues the foundation is currently working on in Egypt are environmental protection and public participation. The initiative is part of the foundation's concern to convert the mainstreaming of poverty-environment into concrete gains on the ground. It seeks to create an interactive and dynamic network of innovative local practitioners and researchers in search of practical ways to improve people's lives and safeguard the environment in the Middle East and North Africa region. “These issues are decisive for the future of mankind [and we still have a] chance to stop the vicious cycle and change it into positive development,” said German Ambassador to Egypt, Michael Bock. He explained that the German government aims at improving living conditions for the poor and has two main priorities: climate and environment protection; and water resources management. The Hanns Seidel Foundation's Cairo office started work in 1978 in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Information to support sustainable development efforts in the country. “Development and protection of the environment go hand in hand,” said Head of the State Information Service, Hany Khairat, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of Information, Anas El Fekky. “Poverty is the number one barrier to the protection of the environment,” he added. Khairat noted that besides having a special ministry and agency for the environment, there is also the environmental media which discusses issues related to the environment, the first program of which started in 2007. “Protection of the environment starts with the individual's behavior and the role of the media is to raise awareness and to inform people of their roles and their duty towards the environment in order to bring about change,” he explained. Partnership with the media has worked well for both parties over the past years. Speaking on behalf of the Egyptian Minister of State for Environmental Affairs was Atwa Hussein, the deputy minister. “Like any country, Egypt seeks economic growth and at the same time faces the challenge of achieving this with sustainable development,” he explained. Egyptian civil society along with the private and public sectors are all working together in raising awareness and changing the behavior of citizens towards the environment. However, he pointed out that the most important thing is that all parties coordinate and cooperate together. He cited the ministry's cooperation with Hanns Seidel. “Protecting the environment is a true investment towards a healthy life,” noted Hussein. A two-day conference was held to launch the Win-Win initiative last week, bringing together international and regional experts who discussed the context and content of poverty-environment mainstreaming in development cooperation. “Is there enough awareness of sustainable development?” asked Christian Ruck, member of the German Parliament, Speaker of CDU/CSU on Development Cooperation in Germany. “Forty years ago people started discussing sustainable development and environmental policies have been made. In most countries there is some form of framework that includes rules and regulations but nevertheless there is not enough awareness,” he explained. “Copenhagen [Climate Change Conference in 2009] failed to lead civilization on the path of sustainability and without a binding agreement we will all lose…we need them fast,” he noted. They also discussed a number of tested win-win strategies for sustainable local development in the MENA region. The Win-Win initiative is a continuation of the Hanns Seidel Foundation's concept of development policy, which seeks to strengthen and utilize social, political, cultural and natural factors leading eventually to the promotion of democratic structures as part of its efforts in the service of democracy, peace and development.
