Second workshop with Izbat Al-Hamra local community representatives

In response to water and climate change challenges in Egypt, the Government of the United Kingdom has funded a five-year “Al Murunah” Project with the objective of increasing water security in the MENA region through the integration of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Agricultural Water Management (AWM) in the face of climate change and land degradation.

The initiative is targeting four countries – Jordan, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), and Egypt starting from 2022 to 2027 and the primary target groups are women and youth who live in the Ezbat Al- Hamra, El Beheira Governorate. The project will be implemented by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE). It will strengthen and catalyse national capacities for the implementation and upscaling of integrated NBS/AWM in Izbet Al-Hamra, El Beheira Governorate. The project will develop action-oriented field demonstrations and recommendations  that overcome technical and non-technical barriers to the uptake and long-term sustainability of NBS/AWM.

CEDARE, with the Desert Research Centre (DRC), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), implemented a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded project (2018-2022) titled “Healthy Ecosystems for Rangeland Development (HERD)” in Matrouh, which aimed at promoting of rangeland rehabilitation and sustainable management operations in Egypt and Jordan, by providing ecosystem services and biodiversity protection. The project addressed the rural and pastoralism community in Matrouh, where coordination had been closely maintained with the relevant activities of HERD, specifically those related to the improvement of the communities’ economic conditions, development of water resources, croplands, and fruit trees productivity, and economic analysis of different sources of income.

Throughout the project duration, regional capacity-building workshops on Rangeland monitoring systems were conducted in parallel with identifying the policies for sustainable rangeland management and restoration. Improve rangeland governance spanning about 500,000 hectares. Scale up good sustainable rangeland management (SRM) practices regionally and globally with the help of local government agencies, local farmers, and pastoralists.

“Good Agricultural Practices on Geographic Indication for Sustainable Production and Increased Marketing Competence to Enhance Rural Livelihood in Matrouh” project focused on Scale up Good Agricultural Practices on Geographical Indication in the Governorate of Matrouh. The action concentrated its activities on three main agricultural products of Matrouh, which are Figs (Teen Sultani), Olives for oil (Zaitun Shemlaly), and Black table Grapes (Enab Eswed). The implementation was in Matrouh and Barrani districts, targeting 10,000 rural population from 2018 to 2020. The Project was funded by the European Union Joint Rural Development Programme along with the Italian Development Cooperation and co-applicant with the Desert Research Centre (DRC) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR).

A Geographical Indication (GI) is a distinctive sign used to identify a product as originating in the territory of a particular country, region, or locality where its quality and reputation are linked to its geographical origin. CEDARE registered for the first time in Egypt the Geographical Indications (GI) for agricultural products. The registered products are fig, grape, and olive oil grown in Matrouh governorate.

Demo Farm field visit in Matrouh

The project supported the value chain of these products by conducting capacity-building workshops for 200 farmers, starting from applying good agricultural practices (GAPs) to the three products in six demonstration farms, followed by harvesting, packaging, and setting up marketing strategies to improve the quality and value of Matrouh agricultural products and increase their marketing competence. In addition, participated in three international exhibitions in Egypt and Germany to showcase the Matrouh agricultural products.

Agri-Business Exhibition

SAHRAA Exhibition

The project aimed at enhancing solid waste management and health services delivery in Ezbet Allam in El-Khosoos, Qalyoubia Governorate (2017 – 2018). The project was funded by the European Union (EU) and The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, (GIZ) and implemented by CEDARE.

The first priority of the project was to establish a healthcare clinic as an initiative to improve the healthcare service in the area with a medical analysis laboratory for early inspection of “Virus C” to content the widespread of the disease among residents. In addition to a dental care centre, a minor surgery room, and a community dialogue unit for hygiene education and public health awareness.

Two loaders and two 5-ton trucks were purchased to augment garbage collection capacity and disposal efficiency and frequency to assist in removing accumulations of waste in the streets of the targeted area. This action also contributes to reducing health hazards associated with uncollected wastes.

A thousand trees were planted in the Ezbet Allam as part of the conducted clean-up campaign. Due to the lack of environmental and health issues, an awareness campaign was run to raise the resident’s awareness about the health implications of pollution that can lead to diseases.

SEARCH was a three-year regional long-term project that was implemented in 2011 to 2014 in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon, funded by the European Union in collaboration with CEDARE as a country implementing country in Egypt. The project was designed to develop a pilot resilience framework for local action planning capacities and methodologies to increase climate change resilience in Ehnasia and Samallout districts through joint learning, planning, and testing by the national stakeholders in the demonstrated sites.

Climate change awareness session

The national project implemented three pilot projects, “Farmer field schools” in El-Masharka and Mayana villages to disseminate the  awareness about the climate change, plantation of tolerant and economic trees to maximize the use of water and improve livelihoods, and maintenance of the non-conventional sanitation system.

Practical toolkits and guides were developed throughout the project duration that contribute to developing regional and national strategies for climate change adaptation, poverty reduction, and economic growth. The project resulted in publishing policy briefs and green papers, 5 resilience strategies, 15 community adaptation plans, implementing 20 pilot projects regionally, and hiring 85 women and 10 men.

Sustainable Investment in Solid and Agricultural Waste (SISAW) in Fayoum and Minya project was a 2-year national project from 2018 to 2020, funded by the European Union (EU) under the EU-JRDP and co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Project aimed at enhancing the two governorates’ rural population well-being by achieving sustainable territorial resources governance and socio-economic development through an innovative participatory Solid Waste Management (SIWM) Process.

Solid Waste Management awareness session in Minya

Solid Waste Management awareness session in Minya

The awareness campaigns in both Fayoum and Minya reached out to nearly 2,251 persons (1,044 males and 1,207 females). By the end of the awareness campaigns, jobs were created for 810 women occupied for sorting out waste at home and 12 jobs for men as garbage collectors. Five awareness campaigns tackled various topics, including Public Participation in Waste Management, Waste Composition and Challenges, Solid and Agricultural Waste cycle, and Income Generating activities (IGA), women IGA from the Waste Management (WM) cycle, and the WM cycle in village schools.

A hundred local business owners in Minya and Fayoum Villages were trained and underwent intensive capacity-building sessions regarding the entrepreneurship concept, feasibility study, characteristics of entrepreneurs, the criteria for choosing startups, and economic feasibility study of small projects.

Two waste disposal units were installed and operated. The first one in Fayoum converts the organic solid waste into biochar and energy using a gasification system. The other one, in Minya, converts agricultural waste into compost.