Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree Jan. 25, handing over ownership of 37 islands to the Egyptian armed forces. The move includes 36 islands in the Nile River and one island off the Mediterranean coast.

According to the Egyptian official gazette, the decree and a portfolio of related documents shall detail the dimensions and areas of those islands, and the decree will be deposited with the competent real estate registration office without fees. The deposition will have the legal effects of an official proclamation.

The decree was issued based on Prime Minister Decree No. 1383 of 2005 regarding the protection of the Nile River and its shores, and pursuant to the approval of the Council of Ministers and the presentation made by the National Center for Planning State Land Uses.

In 1998, then-Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri’s government issued Decree No. 1969 of 1998 stating, “All the islands located within the course of the Nile River in the north, central and south of the valley, the Delta barrages, and the Rashid and Damietta branches are deemed nature reserves in accordance with the Environmental Law.”