Under the auspices of CEDARE’s Executive Director H.E. Dr. Nadia Makram Ebeid, Dr. Amr Abdel-Meguid, Environmental Governance Programme Director, signed an agreement with EPSCO Company for Petroleum services, for co-funding the “Sustainable Investment in Solid and Agriculture Wastes” (SISAW) project, which is funded by the EU-JRDP and the Italian cooperation.
The Environmental Governance Programme, CEDARE, participated in a session at Cairo Water Week 2023 in its sixth edition, which was held on the 29th of October. The CEDARE team collaborated with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in a session under the theme “Building the foundations for community-led development of integrated, nature-inspired water solutions in Egypt and the Wider MENA region”, which highlighted Al-Murunah project as an illustrative example.
Dr. Amr Abdelmeged, Regional Environmental Governance Director at CEDARE, participated in the panel discussion. He addressed the technical gaps in implementing resilient nature-based solutions (RNBS) associated with agriculture water management (AWM).
The session aimed to demonstrate the project objective and approach to implementing resilient nature-based solutions (RNBS) on a regional scale. Along with the corresponding RNBS market system challenges and prospects. As in Egypt, Eng, Galal Maowad, Regional Participatory Development Expert, gave a presentation on the ongoing fieldwork and the participatory effort with the local community and primary stakeholders to address and develop the potential resilient nature-based solution (RNBS).
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
