B ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND POLLUTION: EL-HOSSEINY

21st WEDC Conference Kampala, Uganda, 1995 SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER AND SANITATION SYSTEMS Education for sustainability for remote populations

A. El-Hosseiny,

THE NORTH SINAI GOVERNORATE is located in the North approval of their strategies and plans. The head of the Eastern part of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is also North Sinai Governorate Environmental Management constituting the Northern part of the , Unit - GEMU- was the local implementer of the strategies. which works as a buffer zone between Egypt and . The programme had an aim to enhance the capabilities The Governorate is known for its low and scattered of the educators of the North Sinai Governorate in the population (250,000), compared to the highly populated field ofEnvironmental Education. By educators we meant areas of the Nile Valley and Delta. The population of Environmental NGOs, public and private schools’ teach- North Sinai is mainly nomadic, and scattered in tribes, ers, the staff of the NS Governorate Environmental Man- and centred in main cities such as El (the Capital) agement Unit and the students in the faculty of education and Bir Sabea. Sinai saw no development before its cap- in the University of Canal located in El Arish, the ture by the Israelis in 1967 and was considered a virgin Capital of North Sinai. The aim was to provide a decent territory. However, starting from 1982, the date of its training for the trainers in order to transfer the knowledge return to Egyptian sovereignty, the Peninsula was re- to the scattered nomadic population, through formal garded as possessing great tourist potentials. Neverthe- education (schools and universities) and non-formal edu- less, it is only in 1992 that the Government started initiat- cation (NGOs, religious establishments, Directorates). ing a development plan according to which the Peninsula The programme consisted of several components: would host about 2,500,000 migrating citizens from the highly populated Delta by the year 2017. These plans Environmental education and public awareness include development in the areas of agriculture, industry, workshop tourism, irrigation and infrastructure. This workshop worked as a kickoff event for the Pro- From this perspective, the Egyptian Environmental gramme through inviting the Governor, the trainees and Affairs Agency, EEAA, and within a national strategy the relevant officials to attend a ceremony and a series of which intends to provide Environmental Education for lectures about the envisaged programme. This event was each and every Governorate, initiated two projects in a catalyzer for the provision of weight and gravity to the North Sinai: The North Sinai Governorate Environmental event through the attendance of the Governor, a matter Education and Public Awareness Support Programme which facilitates and smooths processes for the operating (NSEE) and The North Sinai Governorate Environmental managers in the Governorate. Action Plan (NSGEAP). The aim of these projects is to provide a clear vision for the status quo of the environ- Training and production of audio visual materials ment in the region, specifically because of the envisaged and educational programmes developmental ambitions which will take place in the For a period of 8 weeks the operational managers helped area. Environmental action is sought for in order to pro- in providing a practical training for a number of 50 vide a quality of life for the envisaged 10 fold increase in participants, representing ENGOs, teachers, GEMU staff the population of the area by the year 2017. Prevention, in and NS Directorates, in order to produce the following this case is not looked at as the best mean for sustainability, educational material: but as the sole one. • Video film on illegal hunting. The North Sinai Governorate environmental • Slide presentation on environmental resources in NS. education and public awareness support • 16 page colour booklet on environmental resources in programme (NSEE) NS. EEAA with the financial support of the Danish Aid Agency • Colour sticker representing the emblem designed for (DANIDA), initiated this programme which started its the project calling for a better environment. operational phase in November 1994 and ended by April • Slide set on important animals of NS. 1995. The Technical Cooperation Office for the Environ- • 4 different sets of colour transparencies. ment - TCOE-, which is the international arm of EEAA, • Collection of posters. was the one responsible for the management of the Pro- • Model representing the three different types of eco- gramme.In fact, NSEE was operated by two environmen- systems in NS. tal education consultants who reported to TCOE for the • Group of students texts.

54 B ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND POLLUTION: EL-HOSSEINY

NS needs assessment and environmental education • Overhead projector with portable projection table. programme design • Transparency maker. One of the prime goals of this Programme is to identify the • Video camera. status-quo of environmental education in NS, so as to point • Silk screen printing system. out the advantages and alter the disadvantages of the • Binding machine. system. To do that ENGOs circulated a questionnaire • Transparency sheets and films. among a representative sample of the NS population. Also, • Transparency mounts and slide mounts. the design of an environmental education Programme for • Semi professional video mixer. NS is to be included in the NSGEAP as a Chapter on • TV set. environmental education. • Professional photographic camera.

Pilot projects The group of participants who underwent intensive train- The idea was that to provide the Governorate with ing on the production of environmental educational mate- suitable means for any future production of environmen- rial was divided into 6 subgroups responsible for the tal education materials. implementation of 6 pilot projects in the field of environ- mental education in NS: - Planning for a centre for environ- Environmental education Centre mental education and public awareness in NS. - Project on NSEE set the blueprint for a centre for environmental Natural Resources in NS - Project on Desertification - education to be sponsored partly by the Governorate and Women NGOs carried out projects on problems such as partly by DANIDA. Furthermore, the success of this caring for home environment, sustainable use of resources project was a motivation for the private sector to contrib- especially water and energy, recycling wastes. - At the ute in the centre. British Gas will help in the provision of primary level, the theme of “Animals of NS and their more equipment and a better setup for the centre. The protection” was thoroughly discussed and instructed. - At institute should be a reference for the whole Peninsula on the intermediate level the theme of Lyman and Environ- Environmental Education. mental Equilibrium” was thoroughly discussed and in- structed. - Two groups were initiated in schools by schools’ Conclusion administrators for the schools’ inner environments: The Egyptian Environmental Action Plan issued by the “Friends of the Trees” and “Caring for the School Environ- Government of Egypt in 1992 emphasized the need of the ment”. country to have an Action Plan for each and every The idea behind these pilot projects were to generate Governorate. Furthermore, an equal need was admitted replicable success through the implementation of these towards advocating environmental literacy among the projects in other schools in the region. citizens of each and every Governorate. The examples of NS need to be replicated in the 26 . Environmental arts and crafts contest To do this, funding is a major problem as is the example In order to advocate environmental literacy among the in most of the Developing Countries. population, a competition was launched among students in the NS schools for drawing their impressions about their EL Hosseiny’s role in the NSEE local environment. 27 students were awarded in this con- As I was TCOE’s head of Environmental Education De- test. The winning painting should occupy the cover of the partment, I played the role of guiding, directing and NSGEAP. Also, poems about environmental preservation approving the Project Coordinators strategies and plans. and protection were recited during the delivery of prizes Also, I was the inner link between the Project Coordinator which was attended by the students and their parents. and the donor Agency DANIDA. Also, I was the repre- sentative of the EEAA, delegated to discuss with the Equipment and supplies relevant officials in NS the procedures of implementation In order to provide a sense of sustainability, NSEE pro- of the Programme in the Governorate. Also, I was playing vided NS Governorate with the following equipment and the role of quality controller, thus, ensuring that the supplies, all along with adequate training on their man- Project Coordinator is abiding to the Terms of Reference agement use: for the job.

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