LAND DEGRADATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EGYPT: AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty Of Graduate Studies and Environmental Researches

Abstract

Egypt has been facing environmental degradation which is not only impacting the quality of life but also the country’s ability to achieve its sustainable development plans as delineated in its Vision 2030.  Most notably, there is a significant strain on land resources resulting in cropland degradation and losses. Furthermore, there are unsustainable waste management practices as the treatment and disposal of waste remain a problem in Egypt. To this end, this paper attempts to estimate the environmental damage costs for land degradation and waste management for Egypt in 2020.  The process and methodology for the rapid Assessment of the Economic Costs of Environmental Degradation (COED) utilized in this paper is based essentially on the methodology developed by the World Bank Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Program (METAP). The results of the rapid COED presented in this paper could be used as an instrument for integrating environmental issues into economic and social development planning in Egypt. Furthermore, it could help improve the process of environmental priority setting to achieve reductions in the overall cost of environmental degradation in Egypt.

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