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Title: The northern lakes of Egypt: Encounters with a wetland environment

Miscellaneous ·
OSTI ID:5474411

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
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English