Mindy Baha El Din Quotes

Over the years, we have witnessed massive changes and degradation to Egypt's natural heritage. It's shocking how one generation's decisions about natural resources is affecting the present and all future generations of Egyptians.

With better education and affluence there have been more Egyptians interested in nature. There are now more Egyptian divers, desert safari enthusiasts and ecotourists - I know Egyptian who have traveled to Antarctica, Tanzania, South Africa and climbed the Himalayas. Now Egyptians are talking of wanting to explore and see more of their own country. I believe they too will fall in love with Egypt and will want to protect it. The revolution is a process, it will take time, but at least there is hope now!

If we can successfully lift the stranglehold of bureaucracy and old ways of thinking, we can see some real innovation in biodiversity conservation in Egypt as has occurred elsewhere in the world. It's the government's call. If they continue to put people in high-level positions that have no knowledge, experience or even interest in environment, Egypt will not advance. The country has very good national experts so why not use them?

There are a lot of Egyptians who live below the poverty line and are preoccupied with meeting basic needs. Therefore, we have to create tangible benefits from nature conservation. Only through economic incentives will we convince people to protect habitats, wildlife, geological formations, cultural heritage sites, etc. We need local communities to cooperate with us, not against us!

Nature conservation is not a luxury, it is a necessity! It not wise or sensible to continue to destroy your environment if you want to have a sound, stable, healthy and prosperous Egypt whether now or in the future.

Tourism is very important for Egypt as fewer tourists means fewer jobs! Of course there are positives and negatives from tourism... Tourism is a type of use, if not properly planned and managed it can destroy the very resources that brings the tourists. No reefs equals no diving, it's a simple equation. Tourism development has to be appropriate.

Egypt's priorities in fact are all related to the environment: food, water, health, energy, employment and education. Egypt is facing some very serious environmental challenges. The country has limited natural resources and has to decide how to manage these to meet the needs of a growing population.