Egypt's Nile islands to become natural reserves
Egypt, Environment, 6/26/1998

The dozens of Egyptian islands lying on the river Nile will be preserved as natural reserves, Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri said Thursday.

Ganzouri said in press statements that the governorates in which these islands are situated should treat them in accordance with the Environment Law.

Minister for Cabinet and Follow-up Affairs Talaat Ahmed Hammad said there are about 144 permanent islands in the course of the Nile in addition to about 216 seasonal islands, which appear and disappear depending on the level of the4 Nile's water. Total area of the permanent islands is about 15,481 hectares.

The decision to preserve these islands as natural reserves was issued in compliance with the law for the protection of the Nile in 1982.

The 6,700-kilometer-long Nile, the world's second longest river and Africa's longest, runs 1,530 kilometers across Egypt south-north before pouring into the Mediterranean.

With a deficient rainfall over the entire country, human existence in Egypt depends closely on irrigation from the Nile, resulting in the acute concentration of nearly 98 percent of all Egyptians in the Nile Valley which represents 4 percent of Egypt's area.

Previous Stories:
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  International tourism and the beautiful Riviera-Sinai   (5/21/1998)
  Egypt confirms Sudan's adherence to Nile water agreement   (5/13/1998)

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