The northern lakes of Egypt: Encounters with a wetland environment

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5474411

Parmenter, B M

Five lakes fringe the northern coast of Egypt. Together they represent 25% of the remaining wetland habitat in the Mediterranean basin. Residents of these lakes traditionally exploited a wide variety of resources. Today these lakes face a number of threats to their existence, including large-scale reclamation and water pollution. Agricultural authorities, engineers, fishery managers, and conservationists in Egypt and abroad debate about how best to manage and develop the lake region's resources, but few of these groups understand or communicate with one another, or with residents of lake communities. This study explores how these various groups encounter the coastal lakes of Egypt, focusing particularly on Lakes Manzala and Burullus. Its purpose is to explore the ways in which the lakes, their resources and their inhabitants have been evaluated, and to analyze how underlying preconceptions, goals and structures of professional discourse influence such evaluations. The thesis is that environmental management is in reality not a rational plan but a process. Egypt is currently attempting to develop a coherent strategy to remedy its environmental problems without adversely affecting economic growth.

• Research Organization: Texas Univ., Austin, TX (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5474411
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540200 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- (1990-)
540300 -- Environment
Aquatic-- (1990-)
AFRICA
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
CONTROL
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECOSYSTEMS
EGYPTIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAKES
LAND POLLUTION CONTROL
MIDDLE EAST
POLLUTION CONTROL
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SURFACE WATERS
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
WETLANDS