Minister of Environment: Preserving the environment is no longer a luxury, but has become an urgent necessity that threatens world peace and security
Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of the Environment, confirmed that the Green Middle East Initiative came to shed light on the most prominent climate challenges facing the region, and shed light on the importance of combating desertification, rehabilitating lands, and repairing various ecosystems, especially in areas highly sensitive to desertification and drought, such as the Arab region and the region. The Middle East, so the initiative is a joint environmental platform that enhances cooperation between all concerned parties to accelerate the preservation of ecosystems and rebuild degraded ones, which today has become an urgent necessity and is no longer a luxury that humanity can neglect..
Noting that the dangers resulting from neglecting this trend lead to exposing all of humanity to disturbances and conflicts that may amount to a threat to global security and peace by the year 2050.
This came during Dr. Yasmine Fouad’s participation in the 35th session of the Council of Arab Environment Ministers and the first ministerial meeting of the Green Middle East Initiative, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the presence of Engineer Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli, Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and a number of Arab environment ministers.
 
During her speech, the Minister of Environment reviewed the efforts of the Egyptian state to restore environmental systems and combat desertification, those efforts that paved the way in all regional and international forums to link global environmental issues with each other, so that the issue of stopping land degradation and desertification is at the heart of the development process. And also at the heart of confronting environmental challenges.
The Minister of Environment added that Egypt was a pioneer in 2018, during its hosting of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP14, by designing an initiative to link climate change and diversity agreements. Biological and desertification, which were born together to advance sustainable development on the planet. During its hosting of the COP27 climate conference, Egypt also launched a group of international initiatives, including the “Food and Agriculture Initiative for Sustainable Transformation (FAST).” “ The initiative to coherently address biodiversity loss, climate change and land and ecosystem degradation using a nature-based approach. And the "initiative Action for Water Sector Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change "AWARe &ldquo" In addition to formulating a special goal, which is to restore ecosystems within the National Climate Strategy 2050, and the sustainable land management system.
The Minister of Environment also reviewed the efforts made by the Egyptian state at the national level to improve The environmental situation with efforts to reduce global warming emissions, including afforestation, within the fulfillment of its international obligations, which is evident through the implementation of a number of activities in the field of afforestation to improve air quality and combat desertification and global warming, including the implementation of the President of the Republic’s initiative to afforest the governorates of the Republic under the slogan " “Prepare for green”, and the implementation of the 100 million trees initiative to increase tree cover, as well as the strict measures adopted by the Egyptian state to stop encroachment on agricultural lands, develop drought-tolerant plant varieties, and launch the national project for seed production and transform agricultural land irrigation systems from ancient irrigation methods to modern irrigation methods. And the establishment of desalination plants throughout Egypt, which reached about 60 stations, and the adoption of national projects such as the One and a Half Million Acres Project and the New Delta Project, and other initiatives and measures that came as evidence of the policy of the Egyptian state, leadership and people, to increase green areas, and to work professionally with nature to preserve them. Pointing out that these initiatives are generally consistent with the desired goals of the Green Middle East Initiative, which encouraged us to support this initiative and consider it a continuation of the efforts made by the Egyptian state and its pioneering role in the region.
< p>At the end of her speech, the Minister of Environment affirmed Egypt’s full support, under its political leadership that always supports preserving the environment, for this ambitious initiative, which demonstrates Egypt’s support for this initiative by hosting the second summit of the initiative during the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27), pointing out that this initiative is an important platform. To exchange experiences, success stories and lessons learned within the framework of multilateral regional cooperation, through which we hope to develop a road map to link climate change issues and the environmental challenges facing our Arab and African regions, with the importance of linking this issue with other international issues, especially the issue of desertification. Dr. Yasmine Fouad extended her sincere thanks and appreciation to the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to Engineer Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli, the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, for everything that is being done to advance joint environmental work at all regional and global levels to strengthen and consolidate the bonds of cooperation and advance global climate ambitions through participatory work to confront… The environmental and climate challenges facing the region and the entire world.
It is worth noting that the "Green Middle East Initiative" At the summit held in Riyadh on October 25, 2021, which was chaired by His Highness the Saudi Crown Prince and in which the Minister of Environment and approximately 35 countries, organizations, and international and regional bodies participated, which aims to protect the environment, combat climate change, and confront environmental challenges in the Middle East region from rising and falling temperatures. The rate of rainfall, high dust, and desertification, as this initiative indicated the necessity of combating these challenges that threaten the region economically.
