Will nature reserves law finally see the light in Egypt?
The Egyptian parliament is set to discuss and approve a draft law on the Economic Commission of Nature Reserves in a bid to encourage tourism and manage investments in such reserves.
CAIRO — While the draft law on the Economic Commission of Nature Reserves has been failing to pass in Egypt since June 2015, Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad announced Jan. 4 that parliament will soon adopt it. This gave rise to rumors whereby the Ministry of Environment and the Cabinet intend to pass the draft law in a bid to privatize nature reserves. Both Fouad and the government’s Media Center denied such rumors on Jan. 11-12.
The draft law, previously named the General Authority of Nature Reserves, was prepared by the Legislative Reform Committee, a government committee that was formed in 2015 to prepare and submit important laws to the president, who took over the legislative power until a parliament was elected and its first session was held in January 2016.
