Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context

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Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context Ibrahim Rizk Hegazy n Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Egypt

a r t i c l e in f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 5 March 2014 Accepted 7 May 2014

Many developing countries are currently undergoing increasingly rapid economic growth, which contributes in turn to urban development. Though this urban development would seem to benefit these countries, it can also, if inappropriately managed, create distinct challenges for them. In this article, it is illustrated how dominant urban development agendas over the last six decades have favoured an economic model development at the expense of environmental considerations in Egypt which is historically significant as a center of habitat and biodiversity. The Egyptian case mirrors the tension between environmental and urban development agendas. In other words, it is argued that the Egyptian government has conflicting objectives of pursuing urban development to accommodate the fast growing population, and preserving the environment with the former currently taking priority over the latter. Despite attempts to reconcile the two agendas in the last decade, extensive environmental degradation remains a major challenge facing development processes and leading to unacceptable levels of negative impacts. This paper examines the relationship between urban development and environment, through the evolution of development strategies and environmental policy making in Egypt during the six decades from 1950 until 2010. It seeks through a critical evaluation to provide some practical recommendations that could help to effectively advance the balance between environmental and urban

Keywords: Urban development Urban sustainability Environmental policy Egypt

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002 2211-4645/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

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development towards sustainability and propose ways forward to environmental policy making and implementation. & 2014 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The rapid pace of industrialization and urbanization, especially of developing countries, continues to promote urban development, and it can also, under the right conditions, endorse for increasingly sustainable development. In more industrialized countries, urban development rates are constant, if not declining, due to consistent settlement and housing patterns, as well as their relatively stable populations and already high levels of infrastructural development. For developed economies, urban and sustainable development issues have been on the agenda since at least the 1990s. In contrast, developing countries are now in the process of industrialization and urbanization, so they are just beginning to face various challenges of making their development sustainable for the long-term (Kiamba, 2012). Sustainable development is generally described as the process by which present generations develop so as to better meet their needs without reducing the capacity of future generations to do the same. To allow for this, four general conditions must be met: (1) fuel and mineral resources should not be extracted faster than they can be naturally replenished. (2) Long-lasting, harmful products and by products (for example, plastics and carbon emissions) should not be produced faster than they can be broken down and assimilated by the environment. (3) Overconsumption and over-harvesting should be restricted to prevent a decline in the productive capacity of affected ecosystems. (4) Basic needs should be met using efficient electronic and energy technologies (Cairns, 1997). Under these conditions, developing countries will likely be able to sustain their developmental progress over the long run, even if their development includes substantial urbanization. Urban development has unfortunately led to environmental degradation in most developing countries. The four conditions of sustainable development earlier outlined are yet to be met. According to Williams and Millington (2004), sustainable development, even if achieved, can either be weak or strong. They argue that weak sustainable development is human-centered and tends to emphasize economic growth, while strong sustainable development focuses more meaningfully on the need to adjust development strategies on the basis of environmental considerations. Therefore, it is clear that most developing countries are in fact practicing weak sustainable development and missing the point altogether. In this paper, Egypt, which is historically significant as a center of the fertility and biological diversity, provides a useful case study because it displays many of the factors that illustrate the tensions between urban development and environmental policy agendas. Due to rapid industrialization and urban development, Egypt continues to aggressively loss its habitat and biodiversity from 1950 to the present which inevitably leads to environmental problems and exhaustion of natural resources. This paper consists of four main sections: Section 1 is the current introduction. Section 2 is the conceptual framework. Section 3 presents the Egyptian experience. Each of Egypt's three main eras of development is considered. Against the dominant development paradigm in each era, the impact on urban development and urbanization processes and environmental conditions is elaborated. The presentation explains the urban policy framework, the main instruments, environmental priorities and responses, and the outcomes of these policies. Section 4 discusses a picture emerges of centralized decision-making, reactive environmental policy formulation, and an institutional framework that highlight the lack of an integrated developmental perspective. Section 5 presents conclusion and identifies recommendations for future practical steps to reduce environmental impacts associated with urban development processes through environmental policy and on ground actions.

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2. Developing the conceptual framework The main argument of this paper is that dominant development paradigms drive urban development policies and interests that favor economic priorities at the expense of environmental protection. This paper examines the tension between the urban development and the environment, through the evolution of urban development strategies and environmental policy-making in the Egyptian context during the past six decades. It presents the Egyptian experience by reviewing the urban development priorities in parallel with environmental policy interests and assesses how these priorities have been reflected in national strategies. Egypt, like most developing countries, has been undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization. This has been followed by a rapid shift of population from rural to urban areas as the economy moves from an agricultural to an industrial economic structure. Moreover, Egypt is progressing in many planning sectors. The main sector that has received a high percentage of Egyptian investment is urban development planning. Nevertheless, it is argued that there have been many undesired effects on the environment resulted from these development processes (WB, 2005). The main dilemma is the apparent incompatibility between urban growth and development on the one hand, and environmental protection on the other. The risk of growing demand on urban areas is that environmental carrying capacities will be exceeded in a short time (if not already exceeded in some areas) and that the consequences will become unmanageable. Here we confront the sustainability argument head on. Attempts to integrate environmental considerations in decision making process have proved to be a challenge during the last 20 years. The development and consequent integration of environment into development policies have gained momentum in recent years as it is witnessed by the growing body of literature. In this context, this research is the first contribution to clarify the linking between environmental policy and urban development strategies in the Egyptian context. It is argued that

Fig. 1. Research scope and aim.

Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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Fig. 2. Main dimensions influence achieving urban sustainability.

Table 1 Research key issues. Political dimension Institutional dimension Enforcement dimension

Is there a commitment towards the environmental issues? Is there an institutional capacity to adopt the integrated vision of planning? Is there a willingness to enforce the environmental regulations?

there is a need to look at the bigger picture to discuss environmental issues on a par with economic and social issues and to suggest how environmental considerations can be cantered in order to achieve more sustainable patterns of development in Egypt. Therefore, this research mainly purposes to establish the link between the evolution of environmental concerns and urban development strategies (see Fig. 1). It investigates the development policies in Egypt since 1950 based on the following question: “Is there any integration between environmental policy and development strategies?” The three main dimensions which influenced the integration process and in turns could promote the achievement of urban sustainability could be presented as in Fig. 2. The key issues raised from the above question could be identified from the relationship between the three dimensions shown above (see Table 1). The next section investigates the relationship between urban development and environment in Egypt, through the evolution of development strategies and environmental policy making during the six decades from 1950 until 2010.

3. Development and environment within the Egyptian context The case of Egypt reflects the intertwining of, and the tension between, urban development and environmental agendas. This is most distinctive at the national level where these agendas at different eras have been sought to mediate national interests and priorities, Egypt's economic and urban development strategies, and the country's own institutional capacity to develop and manage its developmental objectives. Three eras are considered covering the period from 1950 to date. These periods are associated with three key changing points in the evolution of development paradigm in Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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Egypt as discussed below. These key points were the 1952 revolution, the New Map Policy 1974 and finally, the Map of Development and Urbanization up to 2017 which was launched in 1997. 3.1. Urban development lacking environmental considerations (1950s–1960s) During the 1950s and 1960s, economic growth was a main priority on the government agenda and there was a strong belief that it could only be achieved through industrialization (Osman, 1996). In support of this target, several measures were undertaken which included land reform and the introduction of a protective policy to allow the industrial sector beneficial access to the local market. The discussion presented in this section identifies the urban development trends and environmental policy priorities during that period. 3.1.1. Urban development through urbanization and industrialization The 1952 revolution was a turning point in the history of Egypt. It introduced policies to modernize and industrialize the country, which have continued to the present and which, paradoxically, mirror the approach of the current global model of market enablement. However, the strong shift towards industrialization stimulated patterns of investments, and economic policies that favoured urban areas (i.e. subsidies, rent control, and support for market monopoly), and resulted in the following: concentration of industrial zones and economic activities in Cairo and Alexandria, growing rural– urban migration, increasing demand on land and housing, and the start of environmental pressures and degradation which have reached a critical level (Denis and Bayat, 1998). Within this context, the main thrust of urban development policy was to support the process of industrialization in terms of provision of housing, infrastructure, land for urban expansion and plans for future physical development, mainly for Cairo and Alexandria. Subsequently, the state adopted several tools, such as rent control, provision of subsidies and services, and land use master plans, to facilitate the expansion of the urban industrial base and labor force. In the early 1960s, the increasing process of urbanization outstripped the government ability to cope with its obligations (in terms of services, employment and housing) and to enforce building and land use regulations to maintain minimum environmental quality. This failure resulted in the spread of slums and squatter settlements where low-income people and new migrants tried to find their own solutions and build for themselves (EI-Batran and Arandel, 1998). Moreover, the weak physical planning institutions and weak enforcement accompanied by presidential decrees which prevented legal actions against dissidents encouraged more violation. The government policy to demolish and deny service provision to squatter settlements and slums not only failed to stop the proliferation of these settlements, but also contributed to the rapidly increasing environmental problems (El-Hedeeny, 1999). For instance, in the absence of infrastructure (potable water, sewage system, and electricity) and with overcrowding, squatter settlements suffered deteriorating quality of life. Loss of agricultural land was another negative outcome, since squatters preferred to build their settlements on agricultural land to benefit from services, main roads and means of transportation in the nearby existing communities and the ground water available in the Nile Valley. However, the reasons for the loss and degradation of agricultural land were not only limited to squatting and informal practices but also to uncontrolled and poorly designed urban expansions which ignored the fact that most of the Egyptian cities are located in the Nile Valley on agricultural land. For example, a large proportion of the industrial facilities and the accompanying workers' settlements in Cairo were located on the peripheries to the north and south on agricultural lands rather than the deserts in the east and west (EI-Batran and Arandel, 1998). This indicates that economic feasibility (available infrastructure/accessibility/workers/) and priority of industrialization dominated the decision making process. 3.1.2. Environment and development in conflict During the period of the 1950s and 1960s, urban policies existed but were subsumed under economic imperatives, and environmental policies were unknown. The country was in transition from

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an agrarian to an urban-industrial economy, and thus the impacts of pollution and environmental problems had not yet fully materialized. As environmental issues began to enter the political agenda anecdotal evidence suggests that any discussion or negative assessment of the environmental consequences of development projects were regarded as anti-state and thus faced hostile reaction from government. However environmental policy during that period developed regulation to control environmental pollution. This approach focused upon the discharge from operations rather than controlling growing number of industrial facilities at the source of the problem (Hassanien, 1999). During the 1960s, the Egyptian government has enacted a series of laws that nationalized the economy, and set an inward oriented development strategy, popularly known as import substitution. Banking, insurance, foreign trade, wholesale trade, and the majority of manufacturing enterprises were nationalized and large-scale state enterprises dominated the economy. The economic plans led to significant expansion of industry and production. However, extensive industrial development during that period resulted in renewed environmental deterioration, as the major thrust was economic growth (Abdel Wahaab, 2003). One of the major problems resulting from industrial expansion was that untreated industrial wastewater generated by industrial areas in major cities was disposed of into the Nile and canals (Abdel Wahaab, 2003). Due to overall low levels of socio-economic development, environmental awareness, other than that related to health related issues was non-existent. The major concerns of this period were considered to be the alleviation of poverty and meeting basic human needs. Moreover, it is clear that till the end of the 1960s, there was no environmental institution in Egypt and that most of the environmental concerns were quietly expressed by a few scientists (Gomaa, 1997). Additionally, the government intervention in the private and voluntary sectors weakened competing voices by putting them under state control and bureaucracy in decisions taken at the top level of government. It is argued that in a newly industrializing country, the discussion of pollution and environmental degradation did not exist within the decision making circle. In this context, project assessment based on environmental impacts was regarded as an attempt to prevent development (Abdel Wahaab, 2003). 3.2. Urban development and environmental issues (1970s–1980s) Modernization through industrialization and inward investment policies failed to deliver the promised economic prosperity to the mass population. The early 1970s witnessed increasing unemployment and poverty (El-Hedeeny, 1999). Despite the fact that economic growth remained the ultimate goal during the 1970s and 1980s, the state widened its perspective to consider other important issues such as the deteriorating living conditions of a large proportion of the population, environmental pollution and loss of natural resources. The discussion presented in this section traces the urban development trends and environmental policy priorities during this period. 3.2.1. New Map Policy and urban growth In the early 1970s, it became increasingly apparent that the Egyptian government was facing many challenges in urban development. In particular, there was a need to limit the growth of Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities onto agricultural land. As a result in 1974, the government introduced the New Map Policy (Attia, 1999), which aimed to absorb population growth in the desert by marshaling huge investment funds to undertake land reclamation and to establish new towns. The New Map Policy was an embryonic human settlement policy that was concerned with setting the framework for systematic, balanced economic, physical and administrative development. The map, which is required by this policy, is not only a geographical and a demographic one; it is also basically an economic one. Fig. 3 shows the three phases for urbanization of Egypt as outlined by the New Map Policy. In the first phase, there was a significant concern to develop three main regions; these are the North Coast region, River Nile and Delta region, and Sinai and the Eastern Coast along the Red Sea. The Second phase focused on developing minor growth directions in the Eastern and Western Deserts. The last phase focused on developing massive regions in the Western Desert.

Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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Fig. 3. The proposed new map of Egypt. Source: adapted from Attia (1999)

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The New Map Policy acknowledged the pull of the capital city (Cairo), the problems generated in terms of unequal development and progress in different parts of the country, and scarce agricultural land being consumed by urban development. The policy, therefore, acknowledged the need for a new national framework for settlement and economic development away from the traditional location of the Nile Valley and Delta. It aimed to achieve this by developing new towns in the desert. It was intended that the new towns, together with the expansion of existing towns, would relieve the concentration in Cairo and the other major cities (Mousa, 1997). Development was proposed along the Mediterranean Coast, eastward along the Red Sea Coast, southward around Lake Nasser in Aswan, and the Suez Canal zone. The aim was to realize the New Map Policy's objective of establishing several new towns in the desert to accommodate 20 million Egyptian people by the year 2000 (Abdel Hakeem, 2000). The concept was of independent cities that were planned to be geographically and economically independent of other major cities (Tenth of Ramadan, El-Sadat, and Borg El-Arab) (see Fig. 4) each with its own industrial base and large target populations. By the end of the 1970s in an attempt to reduce population pressure on Cairo, the concept of satellite towns was also launched, these towns were planned in the desert around Greater Cairo (6th of October, 15th of May, El-Obour, and Badr) (Ali, 2003). With respect to the New Map Policy, the urbanization envisaged continued to follow the centralization and focus on the Nile corridor. However, the new towns failed to attract people as they lacked the economic base, basic services and job opportunities. Only approximately 20% of projected capacities in terms of population have been achieved so far (Ibrahim, 2000). Ibrahim (2000) argued that the share of services per person in the new cities is relatively small compared with the old urban centers, it is therefore not surprising that these new towns have not been attractive to people. Despite the urban development policies under the ‘New Map’, increasing poverty during the 1970s and 1980s in Egypt accelerated the growth of squatter settlements as the only affordable alternative for new migrants and existing urban dwellers to find their own solutions to the failed government strategies to provide urban services, employment and housing. Earlier responses of slum eradication

Fig. 4. The locations of the new towns. Source: adapted from Ali (2003)

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and denial of services to these areas were clearly no longer a solution. The growing number of people living in deteriorating living conditions, combined with escalating costs of basic commodities, led to increasing confrontation between the government (and its supporters amongst the bourgeoisie and urban elite) and low-income urban residents (Ali, 2000). No longer was it possible to sustain the contention that these settlements were the price to be paid for economic growth through urbanbased industrialization. Consequently, a shift in approach has been evident, consistent with the more pragmatic and populist style that the then government was forced to adopt in response to the growing political threat from the urban masses. A twin-track approach was adopted, which, in theory, appeared to recognize the interdependence between urban growth and environmental degradation. A twin-track approach is to improve existing slums and reducing the need for future slums, which suggests that intermediate tenure options, combined with regulatory audits of planning regulations, standards and administrative procedures, can significantly improve living conditions within the human, technical and financial resources available (Payne, 2005). The existence of informal settlements was acknowledged and programmes to provide these areas with infrastructure were initiated, funded by international, mainly US, assistance, which targeted the urban sector, especially shelter and infrastructure projects (Zetter and Hamza, 1998). Although the new strategy conferred some security of rights to the illegal residents, as in many other countries it merely encouraged the settlement expansion process, continuing the cycle of informal city building. During this period, squatter settlements expanded rapidly, extending to include both on the desert fringes and also the continued consumption of land in agricultural use. This led to more land degradation and deterioration of environmental conditions in urban areas. 3.2.2. Deterioration and environmental consciousness Environmental policies in Egypt in the 1970s–1980s period, as in the first era, began to develop haltingly. But significant to the argument in this paper, these developments took place in isolation from the pressing environmental needs of the urban sector and the urban poor, on the one hand, and the largely unconstrained primacy of economic interests on the other. To the extent that some progress was made in this era, this comprised largely advocacy-based initiatives and ad hoc protection measures, neglecting the profound challenges of developing sustainable urban growth and management strategies in the context of economic development needs (Gomaa, 1997). Early 1970s witnessed growing recognition of environmental concerns with the Egyptian position at the United Nation's Stockholm conference of 1972, as in 1973 the “National Framework for Environment Report (NFER)” had been produced. The recommendations of this report were general (see Table 2) and came at a time when the country was preparing for the 1973 war which absorbed most of the available resources and the whole of government's attention. Thus no real progress or action took place, but a start was made. The response to these initiatives, therefore, was not manifested until nearly 10 years later. The early 1980s provided a more promising context and the Egyptian government increasingly recognized that greater priority should be given to environmental protection. The government established a ministerial committee for environmental affairs. This committee consisted of ministers of environment-related departments. Its main role was to set plans and projects and report its activities to the Council of Ministers (Gomaa, 1997). However, the committee failed to deliver its responsibilities to promote environmental protection. It proved to be difficult to bring the ministers together. This provides an example of the weak coordination that existed even on this high political level. Table 2 The recommendations of NFER 1973. Source: Gomaa (1997) – – – –

The establishment of an environmental agency to be responsible for developing environmental policies and plans. The creation of monitoring system. The design of environmental education program. Encouraging the universities to have environmental training centers to train environmental cadres.

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In 1982, a presidential decree was issued to establish the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) as a co-ordination body responsible for environmental policy making. The establishment of the EEAA was an important step to protect the environment; however, the agency was very small compared with expectations and the role it was supposed to play. The problems of poor coordination, implementation and enforcement remained major obstacles. The current negotiation channels between different agencies seem to be insufficient, with notable failure to consult the environmental agency when policies are being formulated. 3.3. Urban development and environmental agenda (1990s–2000s) It was clear by the early 1990s that the country was suffering from this problematic legacy, and indeed the cumulative challenge, of the failure of previous policies and interventions. Several studies analyzed the Egyptian urban strategy. These studies included Nofel (1990), Mokhtar (1994), Osman (1996), Habib (1994), Aamer (1997), Bakry (1998), Rabeaa (2000) to highlight but a few. If all these studies have agreed on one particular thing, it was the major disparity between what was intended in the New Map Policy and what was achieved in practice. The discussion presented in this section identifies the urban development trends and environmental policy priorities during this period. 3.3.1. Urbanization and development strategy In facing the degradation of urbanization taking place in Egypt and the increasing population density in the Delta and Nile Valley, it was necessary to change the state concept of urban development and adopt a new strategy based on a comprehensive development view. The new urban strategy identified the main challenges as

    

high population densities and crowding in certain areas; high rates of informal expansion; deterioration in environmental quality in urban settlements; urban expansion over agricultural land; and unbalanced distribution of population between regions and between urban centers (WB, 2008).

Fig. 5. Urban development strategy of Egypt. Source: adapted from GOPP (1998)

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Fig. 6. Areas of high-priority development. Source: adapted from GOPP (1998)

To tackle these problems, the urban strategy of the 1970s and 1980s was revamped. A new strategy was designed incorporating two main axes: developing the deserts and upgrading the existing urban fabric, and under each axis, a set of strategic plans has been prepared as shown in Fig. 5. The first axis of the strategy was to promote development in the desert. To achieve this target, regional plans were prepared for remote areas that had not been given enough attention and development in the past (see Fig. 6) in order to exploit the economic and natural resources available in these areas to establish new urban communities (growth poles) and decentralize the urban population out of the Nile Valley and to stop expansion on agricultural land. In this context, the “Map for Development and Urbanization up to 2017 in Egypt” was announced. This map identifies 44 locations for building and development and their development priorities and economic bases (GOPP, 1998). These new communities are expected to attract 12 million people (which represents half of the expected increase in population) during the period 1998–2017. Despite various studies conducted to inform the choice of the new locations, there remains a lack of clarity about the constraints, potentials, and opportunities of the environmental and physical characteristics of the selected sites such as the topography and soil characteristics of the areas and storm water issues. The choice of locations may in many instances not be valid for the establishment of urban communities because of the underlying environmental characteristics (Ali, 2003). Secondly, the idea of the Twin Cities has been adopted. These cities are located adjacent to the existing urban centers, and sometimes are considered as a natural extension of existing cities. These cities are areas of housing and do not have any economic base, as it is envisaged that their populations will work in the old city and depend on it for services (Ibrahim, 2000). Empirical studies indicate that these cities have not yet acquired the target population numbers envisaged, as more than 40% of housing units remain empty for reasons, including high rents for public accommodation and mortgage levels for private housing that are not commensurate with people's income (Ali, 2003). In addition, more than 25% of the commercial areas are not yet built due to the economic problems (Ibrahim, 2000). Paralleling the above desert development initiatives the government has recently launched a new concept in desert reclamation called “the desert hinterland”. The aim is to exploit areas within 5 km of Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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the cultivated Nile Valley (mostly in Upper Egypt) by land reclamation combined with the construction of new villages and small towns (WB, 2008). The rural communities adjacent to such desert hinterland would be encouraged to expand into these areas. The scheme recognizes for the first time the dynamic of “close-by” small-holder reclamation, which has been going on informally for decades along Egypt's desert fringe, and aims to mobilize nearby rural community solidarity to advance into this “desert hinterland”. However, the experiment is still in its infancy, with less than 40 villages said to be planned or under construction. According to the second axis of the strategy which was mainly focused on upgrading the existing urban fabric and in accordance with planning policy adopted by the government, squatter settlements received much attention during the 1990s. Consequently, a massive program for upgrading was launched in 1993. EI-Batran and Arandel (1998) suggest three main factors for the changes in the government attitude toward the informal settlements: (1) the pressure from international donors which has led to the upgrading of informal settlements in various locations in the country; (2) the implementation of structural adjustment policies which encourage the redirection of infrastructure investment to support economic growth; and (3) the need to control the spread of fundamentalist religious ideology in informal settlements and the accompanied intensification in the repression of terrorism. The implication of this program was that a large proportion of the allocated funds were directed to electricity supply, street widening, lighting and paving, mainly as security measures facilities control and easy access to these settlements. The program ignored public participation and the problem of security of tenure. It demonstrated strong centralization of decision making and indicated that the main objective of such programmes is to maintain the regime's stability and security rather than upgrade the area (Ibrahim, 2000). Consequently, as expected, such interventions did not achieve any significant improvement in the living conditions of low-income inhabiting these areas. In accordance with the policy direction to upgrade the existing urban fabric, regional strategic plans for the different regions of the country have been prepared. These plans aim to (GOPP, 1998)

 develop urban development centers in each region to act as attraction points for activities and population,

 achieve the necessary integration between the requirements of urban development,  establish a balanced urban structure in accordance with natural and environmental resources,  limit population growth in existing urban communities on agricultural land and guide the urban growth to new axes,

 develop the urban environment of the governorates within each region, and  improve transportation corridors linking the governorates with each other.

Ali (2003, 2006) argues that Egyptian cities, in general, face a future fraught with many problems and challenges due to the imbalance in the relationship between urban and rural areas, and the absence of a comprehensive strategy aimed at balanced urban development at the level of Egyptian cities. Reflecting these concerns, and in line with these regional strategic plans, the planning authority has launched a massive program for upgrading the urban environment in all Egyptian cities and villages. This program aims to implement a participatory approach involving the local community in identifying and implementing priority projects and activities with the aim of creating sustainable cities capable of facing changing circumstances, and improving living standards, especially for the poor and marginalized groups (WB, 2008). 3.3.2. The environmental agenda After complicated negotiations between the Egyptian government and a joint committee of the World Bank, an accord was reached in May 1991. This accord suggested that Egypt should prepare a National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) according to World Bank standards. Subsequently, the Egyptian government acted quickly and a background report was ready within three months. This effort and the background document were strongly appreciated by the World Bank experts Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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(Gomaa, 1997). While the environment during the 1960s was not considered, and the 1970s–1980s witnessed a group of non-coordinated activities and laws to protect the environment, the 1990s saw the formulation of a clear Egyptian environmental policy for the first time. Since the early 1990s, environmental policy formulation in Egypt has been an evolving process which has changed with time, modified with major unexpected environmental actions and often affected by the control of senior decision makers. Five milestones can be distinguished in the evolution of the environmental policy process in Egypt since 1990 (WB, 2005; EEAA, 2006)

     

National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) of 1992. The Law No. 4/1994 for Environmental protection. Environmental Policy directives in 1998. NEAP update of 2002. Presidential decree of May 28, 2002. Framework of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2006.

The National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) was a significant document representing the first attempt to incorporate environmental issues in the government political agenda. The formulation of the NEAP entailed a participatory process which is novel for policy making in Egypt. This participation included academics, media, researchers, government and non-government representatives, and international experts and reflected a government perception of the multi-disciplinary nature of environmental problems (Gomaa, 1997). The document demonstrated important themes such as strengthening institutional capacity and developing human resources; and identified key Egyptian environmental problems such as land degradation, solid waste management, and air and water pollution. Additionally, the document suggested the adoption of economic measures to support environmental improvement (Hassanien, 1999). It was argued that there several limitations based on issues such as lack of clear specific objectives, integration, available resources for implementation, accurate identification of the stated problems and coverage of all aspects of environment (Gomaa, 1999). However, consideration of other issues such as the political circumstances, time allowed for preparation, and the lack of reliable data, would change the evaluation to complete success. The document (whether it is an action plan or not) was the first attempt to set up the foundation of Egyptian environmental policy based on the sustainable development concept. Additionally, the NEAP background reports were the backbone for the National Report on Environment and Development presented at the Earth Summit in 1992. One outcome of the NEAP initiative and the growing realization of the need to strengthen the environmental agency was the revitalization of the EEAA. In 1994, the Environment Law number 4 was enacted; it re-established the EEAA and provided it with broad authority. The law gives EEAA an array of tools for implementing and enforcing its provisions, including traditional regulatory controls based on command and control, inspection and punitive enforcement, and a compliance monitoring system. It was within Environmental Law 4/1994 that environmental impact assessment (EIA) was formally introduced as a management tool for achieving acceptable forms of environmentally sound development and sustainability. In 1998, the environmental policy directives which were announced stressed the issues of coordination, technology transfer, enforcement, environmental management, and the use of marketbased instruments as follows:

 fostering partnerships, coordination and collaboration between the different segments of the society at the national level;

 fostering partnerships at the bilateral, regional and global levels by supporting the transfer and use of clean technology;

 develop and upgrade Egypt's 21 natural protectorates and protection of biodiversity;  support institutional strengthening and capacity building at the central and regional levels;  adopting sustainable environmental management systems by adding an environmental dimension Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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to large-scale national projects and preparing environmental action plans for Egyptian governorates; and integrate market-based instruments into the practice of environmental protection.

While the directives actually provide a broad guiding framework rather than the means and tools to achieve specific environmental targets, they represented a very good start in establishing an environmental management system in Egypt. Parallel to the policy directives, an update of NEAP of 1992 was initiated in 2002 with sponsorship from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In this respect, it is argued that the goal of sustainable development linking development with environmental protection is the key to Egypt's future (WB, 2005). The updated version was designed to represent Egypt's agenda for environmental actions over the next 15 years. It is also designed to complement and integrate with existing sectoral plans for economic growth and social development (EEAA, 2002). It can be viewed as a diagnostic document with qualitative analysis of key environmental issues. NEAP is considered as a plan of strategic actions, covering the period to 2017 and, in some cases, beyond. In approving the NEAP update of 2002, it was declared that the strategic objective of environmental policy in Egypt is to introduce and integrate environmental concerns into all national policies, plans, programmes and projects (WB, 2005). Moreover, a promising step towards the realization of a stronger environmental commitment of the Egyptian government at the highest levels occurred in 28th May 2002 when a Presidential Decree was announced in supporting the Environmental Strategy for Egypt for the coming 20 years. It is indicated that the “Environment is not a luxury business, but environmental protection is a national duty” (WB, 2005). It is confirmed that the environmental dimension should be integrated into the modernization process. In this context, it is mentioned that there is a significant need to develop monitoring bodies and units to ensure the rapid implementation of environmental programmes, and environmental regulations. This statement was pointed towards sustainable development and the need to integrate the environment into the development policies, projects and programs. It also sets the priorities for intervention to which the government should be committed. Finally, one of the most significant steps, in the recent years, towards achieving sustainable development is a framework document for a National Strategy of Sustainable Development (NSSD), which was formulated in 2006. This document aims at achieving a comprehensive reform in economic and social aspects, and incorporating environmental aspects into development processes in order to provide ecologically sustainable development. This framework calls for establishing a National Committee for Sustainable Development (NCSD) under the chairmanship of the Minister of Environment. The committee involves representatives from all governmental ministries; the committee should carry out the following tasks as stipulated in the Prime Minister Decree No. 74 of 2006

 Proposing the national policies related to sustainable development through incorporating environmental considerations into all development sectors processes.

 Preparing the notional strategy of sustainable development with the participation of all relevant concerned parties.

 Formulating the new regulations and the amendments of the existing regulations necessary for supporting sustainable development.

 Identifying appropriate ways for achieving consultation in a partnership between all concerned parties.

In this document, it is argued that to achieve sustainable development it is important to develop some instruments supporting this ultimate aim; the document required a fundamental reform for the existing environmental policies and regulations. The most significant principle of this document was to set out effective legislative and procedural provisions that activate the principles of sustainable development. Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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4. Discussion The current section provides overall answers for the research key issues raised in this study within the Egyptian context, paving the way forward to improve the environmental policy design and implementation. 4.1. Political dimension It is advocated that in a centralized system, as is the case in Egypt, political will plays a significant role in achieving successfully a coordinated environmental policy framework. However, the analysis of the policy framework indicates that government policy is more concerned with economic development and less serious about environmental protection. This position is likely to reflect a longstanding interest in achieving economic development over the past six decades. Consequently, environmental issues are considered only as long as they do not affect economic growth and development. In other words, environmental issues are likely to surface as a priority on the government agenda, when there are economic gains and incentives that can be achieved such as debt relief, grants, or other external pressures. In this context, it could be concluded that the governmental commitment towards environmental issues is weak. 4.2. Institutional dimension The institutional framework, within which several actors are coordinating together, is important in terms of the incentives and the obstacles it creates for effective coordination. In a highly centralized system like Egypt, a non-hierarchical form of coordination is difficult to initiate, especially where there are disagreements over who is responsible for what and where there is high competition over power. This indicates the important task of the central government to carefully identify the role and responsibilities of each participating agency/ministry that might be involved in the process of coordination. With policies focused on an economic view and the perception of environmental protection as a constraint these are likely to impede the coordinating functions of the environmental policy framework (whether cross sectoral or central-local) and make them less effective, lacking the integrated vision of sustainability. The absence of such a management framework, which organizes and coordinates all these activities within a strategic view for sustainable development, is likely to result in overlap/conflict between these and would carry the risk of producing unsustainable overall outcomes. This is more likely to undermine the gains and achievements of each individual project Additionally, while the executive powers are devolved to the local level, policy-making and planning powers remain at the top of the system in Egypt. The Egyptian experience shows that what is planned at the top is not necessarily implemented at the bottom, as designed. This is likely to result from lack of competence, resources, and commitment to policy objectives at the local level, as well as lack of reliable information and understanding of the local conditions at the top. This centralized top-down management system seems to exacerbate the implementation gap and makes it difficult for the environmental agency to effectively support the enforcement of environmental regulations. In this context, it seems that the institutional capacity to adopt the integrated vision of planning to what extent is weak. 4.3. Enforcement dimension Despite the growing efforts by the government of Egypt to improve the environmental conditions, the country lacks an integrated vision for sustainability. The sustainable development concepts are not incorporated in the policies of sector ministries. The Environment Law left the environmental responsibilities fragmented between various ministries and agencies, what seems to be less successful in establishing an institutional framework that is able to manage and coordinate these responsibilities towards the sustainability goal. This lack of effective coordinating institutional arrangements limited the scope of the environmental policy agenda to the environment sector alone. It also results in

Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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fragmentation and overlap/contradictions at the local level (implementation). This position does not only waste the limited resources but also is less likely to solve the existing urban environmental problems in the long term. Egypt, according to the Environment Law, has adopted a “command and control” approach to environmental policy making which relies on environmental standards and specific sanctions (fines and penalties) for causing environmental impacts. However, there seems to be lack of enforcement of the environmental regulations. This is likely to be the result of the unsuccessful coordination and the reluctance from responsible ministries and agencies to enact the law. Moreover, the lack of financial and human resources for enforcement reflects the government's unwillingness to enforce the environmental regulations.

5. Conclusion and recommendations The 50-year overview presented in the paper emphasizes the dominance of economic-oriented paradigms over urban and environment priorities. To this extent, the regime has sustained itself through remarkable transformations and in so doing would appear to have successfully mediated domestic and international interests, while satisfying the urban political class that dominates the policy agenda of the country. This highly proves how non-environmental urban development is one of the main problems that reduce the limited highly fertile land in the Nile Delta of Egypt. The main challenge to develop a sustainable environmental policy framework in Egypt lies within the governmental perception of environmental protection as a major constraint on economic development. The challenge is more than just within the institutional framework itself. It is demonstrated that forms of successful coordination are possible within the authoritarian top-down system if supported by strong political will; but coordination, important in itself, is not the fundamental problem for implementing an effective environmental agenda in Egypt. Bearing in mind the attractive notion of achieving economic development and prosperity, changing the government perception needs a profound shift of political will. Here the role of environmental activists to mobilize the public to pressure the government to consider the environment more seriously may be an approach to accomplish this. In this context, it is advocated that urban development requires a holistic approach, encompassing all aspects of development. Integration of environmental issues into the urban planning processes is essential to produce effective sustainable urban policies. The data analysis revealed that previous academic research had focused mainly on dealing with economic and social influences on the urban planning process and limited attention had been given for evaluating or suggesting changes for environmental performance of urban development. This research argues the need to look at the bigger picture to discuss environmental issues on a par with economic and social issues and to suggest how environmental problems can be cantered in order to achieve more sustainable patterns of urban development in Egypt. Below is a list of recommendations for better adoption. They are divided into three groups as follows.

5.1. Political dimension

 Strong political support is considered as one of the most important factors in achieving sustainable



development. In situations where key decision makers consider environmental concerns to be irrelevant to decision making, environmental matters may not be taken seriously as a part of decision-making mechanisms. In order to change this situation, strong political support is needed to be in place. Legal mandate is normally laid out in environment-related legislation, regulations or directives. It is argued that wherever a legal mandate is in place, urban-environment integrated approach could be effectively established. This gives environmental matters priority in the decision-making process.

Please cite this article as: Hegazy, I.R., Urban strategies and environmental policy: Towards urban sustainability within the Egyptian context. Environmental Development (2014), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envdev.2014.05.002

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5.2. Institutional dimension

 The institutional capacity and organizational aptitude of environmental institutions are of   

importance for integrating environmental matters into development practice in an effective manner. It is important to consider the development of an organizational system which provides effective vertical and horizontal links between all agencies which are involved in national development planning in order to achieve integrated planning systems. Improve the negotiation procedures and co-ordination between environmental authority and other bodies involved in development processes. Emphasis is needed on improving capacity building through continuous in-house training as well as on promoting environmental awareness.

5.3. Enforcement dimension

 Since the environment plays a central role since the question of sustainability, it has been argued

  

that environmental considerations should be integrated into decision making on a par with social and economic issues which are long lasting considerations in the current planning and decisionmaking philosophy. By integrating environmental considerations into planning and decision making on a par with social and economic considerations, the strategic action planning and decision making mechanism will be nearly completed from the perspective of sustainable development The availability and accuracy of information defining environmental baseline for various components of the Egyptian environment is one of the main potentials for the effective integration environmental matters into development processes. The development of relevant tools and techniques, criteria and indicators which integrate environmental issues with development processes should be put under discussion. A formal provision for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) should be introduced in Egypt to promote achieving sustainable development. Due to the roles SEA plays in integrating the environment into strategic decision making it is recommend that that SEA can guide this process on integration.

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