Anti-pollution plans analysed
Posted: 12 April 2006
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A World Bank-funded anti-pollution project in Egypt is likely to have a limited effect on one of the world's most polluted countries, say local environment alists, though some consider it an important step in a wider effort to reduce air pollution.
On 23 March, the World Bank approved a $20-million loan to finance the Second Pollution Abatement Project (SPAP), the second phase of a long-term project to fight air pollution. SPAP seeks to use a combination of grants and soft loans to diminish the number of air pollutants emitted by Egyptian factories.
'With this project, Egypt has received the largest resources on pollution control from the World Bank and its partners than any other country,' said Hocine Chalal, the project's Task Team Leader, said according to a report.
Egypt has some of the highest pollution levels in the world. A recent report published by Yale and Columbia Universities ranked Egypt 130 out of 133 countries in terms of air qu ality.
Essam Al Hinnawi, a senior consultant with the International Centre for Environment and Development, however, said that the SPAP was not the first project to address the problem of air pollution, and that results of past efforts had been 'very disappointing'.
Mohammed Hussein, project coordinator with the Arab Office for Youth and Environment, agreed that the biggest problem was the lack of enforcement of environmental regulations.
According to Al Hinnawi, there is an obvious link between air pollution and the many health problems that commonly affect Egyptians. 'First, there's asthma, especially in children,' he said. He also mentioned that air pollution can exacerbate chronic bronchitis and heart disease in vulnerable groups such as the elderly.
'They get transient illnesses, like coughs and breathing problems, more often. Pollution also causes increased blood pressure in some groups,' explained Al Hinnawi.
'This is in addition to the fact that some pollutants have a carcinogenic affect that is only manifested after 20 or 30 years.'
Meanwhile, the World Bank loan has encouraged other organizations, such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the European Investment Bank and the Global Environment Facility, to contribute an additional $145 million in grants and concessionary loans.
Posted by Editor Offshore Arabia Magazine
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