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In a groundbreaking study, researchers have illuminated the path toward harnessing advanced technologies for the sustainable development of ecotourism. The focus of their investigation, centered on the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve in India, highlights the fusion of deep learning, machine learning, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to assess the potential for ecotourism in one of the world’s most biologically diverse regions. This innovative approach not only underscores the growing need for intelligent solutions in environmental management but also establishes a model for similar assessments in ecotourism hotspots worldwide.

As climate change and rampant development continue to threaten ecological integrity, the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, with its unique mangrove ecosystem, serves as an emblematic case for effective ecotourism management. The researchers contend that leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning offers the opportunity to evaluate potentialities for ecotourism more accurately than traditional methods. This case study serves as a pioneering instance of how technology can be applied to ecology and tourism, creating a blueprint for future initiatives.

The study employed a robust methodology, integrating complex algorithms and data analytics that rabbit-hole deeper than surface-level assessments commonly used in tourism studies. By utilizing deep learning, the researchers could identify crucial patterns in environmental data, such as biodiversity indicators and geographical metrics. These algorithms are designed to process vast datasets, allowing for a nuanced understanding of the variables that attract ecotourists while also prioritizing ecological sustainability.

Moreover, traditional methods of assessing ecotourism potential often rely heavily on subjective evaluations, leading to potential biases and inaccuracies. In contrast, the machine learning models utilized in this study analyze historical data, visitor patterns, and environmental conditions to offer data-driven recommendations for developing ecotourism initiatives. These data-driven insights form a foundation for decision-makers, empowering them to make informed choices that balance ecological preservation with tourism development.

The researchers’ use of multi-criteria decision analysis is particularly noteworthy, as it systematically evaluates various factors influencing ecotourism viability. This technique considers not only economic factors but also social and environmental dimensions, facilitating a holistic view of ecotourism’s impacts. By engaging this multi-faceted approach, the study presents policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of potential challenges and opportunities associated with ecotourism development.

In addition to enhancing the decision-making process, this study highlights the importance of community engagement in ecotourism projects. Effective management of ecotourism not only requires an understanding of the environment but also the needs and aspirations of local communities. The incorporation of community perspectives and contributions to data collection processes enriches the analysis and promotes sustainable practices that benefit both the ecosystem and the people who inhabit it.

The results from the Sundarban case study reveal a promising landscape for ecotourism, uncovering sites with significant potential for development coupled with mindful conservation. The researchers meticulously mapped areas of high ecological value and correlated them with existing tourism infrastructures, revealing opportunities where conservation can be aligned with tourism growth. This comprehensive mapping serves as a strategic tool for stakeholders working to cultivate a sustainable and thriving ecotourism sector.

As ecotourism emerges as a priority for many nations, this study demonstrates how technology can serve as an ally in this endeavor. By producing real-time analytics and predictive modeling, machine learning offers a proactive way to address potential tourism impacts before they escalate into irreversible damages. Advanced analytical models can foresee fluctuations in visitor numbers in response to environmental changes, empowering stakeholders to adapt strategies accordingly.

Amidst the rising global awareness of climate issues, the significance of such research cannot be overstated. The intersection of tourism and sustainability presents a unique avenue for ecological preservation, economic development, and cultural exchange. The findings underscore that through interdisciplinary collaboration—melding technology, ecology, and socio-cultural research—the potential for sustainable tourism can be realized.

Furthermore, this innovative research has implications extending beyond the Sundarbans. Other ecologically sensitive regions worldwide can leverage similar frameworks to evaluate and enhance their ecotourism strategies. Whether nestled within the Amazon rainforest or the wetlands of Southeast Asia, a data-driven approach inspired by this study can usher in a new era of responsible tourism practices designed to protect invaluable ecosystems.

While these findings are promising, they also raise pertinent questions about the scalability of such technology-driven analyses in regions with less data availability. The study’s success hinges on the integration of comprehensive datasets that may be lacking in more remote or under-researched areas. For researchers, this opens the door to ongoing inquiries about how to gather and utilize data effectively in such contexts to ensure a wider application of these advanced methodologies.

Local governments, conservation organizations, and tourism industries must collaborate closely to implement the insights derived from such studies effectively. The transdisciplinary nature of the research fosters a collaborative environment, encouraging diverse stakeholders to focus on shared objectives of sustainability. In light of potential conflicts between conservation and economic interests, the establishment of transparent dialogues among sectors is essential for long-term success.

Ultimately, the intersection of deep learning, machine learning, and sustainable development presents an exciting frontier for both researchers and practitioners. By adopting a collaborative and technologically advanced approach to ecotourism—one that integrates scientific insights with community engagement—it is possible to create a sustainable path forward. The Sundarban study serves as a testament to the power of innovation in reconciling the tensions between ecological sustainability and economic prosperity.

As the academic community begins to absorb these methodologies, it’s imperative that future research continues to build on this foundation. The pressing realities of climate change and environmental degradation necessitate a rapid evolution in how we approach tourism and conservation. The insights gained from the Sundarban case study stand as a clarion call for similar initiatives globally, aiming to safeguard our planet’s irreplaceable natural treasures while fostering responsible tourist experiences.

In conclusion, this pioneering work illustrates the transformative potential of algorithms and data analytics in assessing and enhancing ecotourism prospects. The collective findings not only provide a framework for future ecotourism assessments but also present a compelling case for the integration of technology in environmental management strategies. As we navigate the complexities of these dual objectives, the commitment to marrying conservation with sustainable tourism is more crucial than ever.

 

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In Nepal, the death toll from floods and landslides rose to 50, with the eastern district of Ilam bordering India recording 37 deaths, a spokesperson for the Armed Police Force said.
The flooding comes as India’s government is working on a new national climate-linked insurance scheme to simplify payouts after extreme weather events and which would be the first of its kind.
Darjeeling and Kathmandu floods
At least 18 people died in Darjeeling, and several people were still missing on Monday, as relief and restoration work got underway, said local government officials in the Indian state of West Bengal, warning that the death toll was likely to rise as details flowed in from remote areas.
The Himalayan hill resort of Darjeeling, the main city in the namesake district, is famous for its tea and draws tourists with spectacular views of Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest peak. The state’s first minister Mamata Banerjee urged tourists to stay put until they were safely evacuated.
The districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, which are home to tea plantations, were among those affected, she said. In all, 23 deaths have been reported across northern West Bengal state since the weekend, Banerjee said.
More rain is expected after the weekend’s “extremely heavy” downpours in Darjeeling, said H R Biswas, the regional weather head in the state’s capital of Kolkata.
Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, suffered from severe flooding as several rivers swamped roads and inundated many houses, cutting the temple-studded capital off from the rest of the country by road.
In southeastern Nepal, the Koshi River – which causes deadly floods in the eastern Indian state of Bihar almost every year – was flowing above the danger level, a district official said.
India’s climate insurance
The floods arrived as India’s government began early-stage talks with the country’s insurers about designing a nationwide climate-linked insurance programme aimed at simplifying the payout process after extreme weather events such as heatwaves and floods.
The scheme would adopt a parametric insurance model, where policyholders receive a pre-determined payout when specific weather thresholds such as rainfall, temperature or wind speed are breached.
Should the discussions bear fruit, India – among the nations most prone to extreme weather events – could become one of the first major economies to roll out such a program.
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CAIRO, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Rising Nile waters inundated homes and fields in northern Egypt over the weekend, forcing residents to move by boat and intensifying a war of words between Cairo and Addis Ababa over whether Ethiopia’s giant Nile dam has worsened seasonal floods.
In the Nile Delta village of Dalhamo, in Menoufia Governorate, some 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Cairo, men paddled wooden boats through narrow lanes where water lapped at the walls of their homes.

“We lost everything,” said fisherman Saied Gameel, standing knee-deep in his flooded house. “The water level is extremely high, much higher this year … before it would rise for two days and then recede.”

FLOODS IN SUDAN DISPLACE THOUSANDS

The Nile has long been affected by seasonal flooding due to monsoon rainfall in the Ethiopian Highlands that usually peaks in July and August. But this year a late-season surge has pushed north from Ethiopia, through Sudan, and into Egypt.
In Sudan, the U.N. migration agency said floods in Bahri, Khartoum state, displaced about 1,200 families last week and destroyed homes, compounding an 18-month war that has crippled the country’s response.
Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry has accused Ethiopia of “reckless unilateral” operation of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, saying sharp, unannounced swings in water releases after the dam’s September 9 inauguration helped trigger a “man-made, late flood”.
It said, in a statement on October 3, that discharges jumped to about 485 million cubic metres on September 10 and as high as 780 million on September 27 before easing, straining Sudan’s Roseires Dam and pushing excess water through to Egypt.
Ethiopia, which sees the $5 billion dam as central to its development, rejected Cairo’s claims, describing Egypt’s statement as “malicious and riddled with numerous baseless claims”.
In a statement on October 4, its Water and Energy Ministry said regulated releases from the Blue Nile project had reduced flood impacts and that without it heavy rain “would have caused historic destruction in Sudan and Egypt”.
Ethiopia inaugurated the dam on September 9, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed saying it was built “to prosper, to electrify the entire region, and to change the history of black people”, insisting it was “not to harm its brothers”.
The dam is designed to generate 5,150 megawatts of power and hold up to 74 billion cubic metres of water in its lake.
Cairo bitterly opposed the dam from the start, arguing that it violated water treaties dating back to the early part of the last century and poses an existential threat.

‘NOWHERE ELSE TO GO’

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a press conference on October 2 that authorities had anticipated higher-than-normal flows this month and warned that low-lying tracts in Menoufia and neighbouring Beheira, long encroached by informal building and farming on the river’s floodplain, were at risk.
Health teams were deployed to flooded areas over the weekend.
Back in Dalhamo, Gameel said residents were still waiting for help.
“People were warned before the water rose, but there’s nowhere else for anyone,” he said. “When the water rises, everyone ends up staying on top of their houses.”

Reporting by Dina Sakr and Mohamed Ezz; Editing by Alex Richardson

JAKARTA, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s nuclear agency is still determining the size of the area affected by radioactive contamination linked to a scrap metal plant, with 10 points in an industrial zone near Jakarta found with high levels of exposure, officials said on Thursday.
The contamination was first detected in a batch of shrimp shipped to the United States in August by a local company also based in the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate, after which Indonesia began sweeping scans there.
“Hopefully, by early next week we will know the total size of the contaminated area,” said Bara Hasibuan, a spokesperson for the investigation into the incident, adding Indonesia’s nuclear agency would make that determination.
“We’re not taking this lightly. For us, this is serious.”
A scrap metal factory owned by foreign investors is being treated as the epicentre of the contamination, documents obtained by Reuters show, confirmed by another official.
Indonesia said this week it was providing updates on the probe to the global nuclear watchdog and the United States.
The same contaminant was also found in a shipment of cloves last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
Caesium 137 is present in the environment mainly from nuclear testing or accidents, like Chernobyl and Fukushima, according to the FDA’s website. Indonesia has no nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants.

RADIATION IN MORE LOCATIONS

Indonesian authorities have found 10 points with radionuclide radiation for Caesium 137, Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq told Reuters, up from the initial six locations. The estate is still operating, but under close monitoring.
“We have declared PT PMT (Peter Metal Technology) as the epicentre with a 5 km perimeter,” Nurofiq said, adding a special incident status had been imposed at the estate.
He said movement had been limited there and teams of police, military and religious leaders were going door-to-door to inform people of the danger and ways to avoid it.
Authorities examined over 1,500 local people and workers and found nine were exposed, spokesperson Hasibuan said, adding those had undergone special medical treatment.
Decontamination measures were being taken and special equipment used on trucks entering and leaving to ensure they were free of contamination, he said.
PT PMT deals with non-ferrous base metal manufacturing and grinding, and set up in the estate two years ago, according to Indonesia’s law ministry registry reviewed by Reuters.
The nationality of the investors is not clear in the document, but it was set up by foreign direct investment. The company did not immediately respond to questions sent by Reuters to a cellphone number listed in the registry.
The estate, 68 km from Jakarta, covers 3,175 hectares and contains more than 270 local and foreign companies, in areas from food processing to automotive components, according to its website.

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Today, World Resources Institute’s Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) awarded $3.8 million in grants and technical assistance to 14 climate startups across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Source: World Resource Institute(link opens in a new window)

CategoriesEnergy, Finance, Technology
Tagsclimate change, climate health, decarbonization, impact investing, Productive Use of Energy, renewable energy, scale, solar, startups, sustainable finance, technical assistance

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Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a removal action decision that will protect the Little Colorado River from uranium contamination by safely moving mine waste from two abandoned uranium mines and a portion of a third into an on-site repository one mile from the river.

The Section 9 Lease Mine Site is located in Coconino County, Arizona, and is adjacent to the Little Colorado River in the Cameron Mining District near the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. EPA coordinated closely with the State of Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality to ensure the protection of public resources and the consideration of local stakeholder priorities.

“Today’s announcement marks major progress on the cleanup of abandoned uranium mines in the region,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Region Superfund Division Director Mike Montgomery. “By safely relocating this waste away from the Little Colorado River, we’re reducing the footprint of legacy uranium contamination in Navajo communities and throughout the watershed.”

“I applaud EPA’s efforts to address legacy uranium mine waste issues in Arizona and look forward to our ongoing partnership to protect Arizona residents,” said Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Karen Peters.

The removal design process is estimated to commence in 2026 and will safely remove and relocate waste to the repository, while protecting human health and the environment from ionizing radiation caused by historic mining activities. Once removal is complete, the former mine areas will be restored to natural conditions, protecting the river’s critical habitat and important cultural resources. The new repository may also serve as a regional repository for waste from other abandoned uranium mines in the Cameron Mining District, streamlining future cleanup efforts in the region.

Read more about EPA’s Abandoned Uranium Mine program on EPA’sNavajo Nation Uranium Cleanup webpage.

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As 2025 draws closer, Egypt is preparing to make a significant return to the IFTM Paris exhibition, with a completely restructured tourism strategy. This transformation focuses on a more inclusive approach, designed to attract a wide range of travelers. With an emphasis on diversity, spiritual significance, innovation, and sustainability, Egypt aims to reshape its tourism sector, offering unique experiences that appeal to both local and international markets, especially those in France. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is leading this effort, introducing new tourism concepts such as eco-tourism and exclusive cultural tours that are more in line with the evolving demands of travelers today. This shift is not only aimed at promoting Egypt as a top-tier destination, but also at establishing it as a global tourism hub offering authentic and high-quality experiences. The country’s plans are set to redefine the tourism landscape and solidify its status as a key player in the global tourism industry for years to come.

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Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sweilem, held a virtual meeting with Eric Mamer, Director-General for Environment at the European Commission, and EU Ambassador to Egypt, Angelina Eichhorst, to explore ways of strengthening cooperation under the EU-Egypt Water Partnership Declaration, signed in November 2023, the ministry announced.

The discussions focused on ongoing and future areas of collaboration aligned with Egypt’s “Irrigation System 2.0” strategy and the EU’s approach to water sector resilience. Both sides also reviewed the joint work program for 2025–2027 and preparations for the 8th Cairo Water Week, where the EU is expected to play a significant role.

Minister Sweilem highlighted the progress achieved in consolidating the strategic partnership with the EU, reaffirming Egypt’s commitment to continued coordination and the identification of fundable projects that align with national water priorities.

He also emphasized Egypt’s determination to build on its global leadership in water-related issues, citing its co-chairmanship with Japan of the third interactive dialogue on water and climate, and coordination with the EU during the 2023 UN Water Conference, where the EU co-chaired the session on “Water for Sustainable Development.” Sweilem confirmed Egypt’s intention to deepen this cooperation in the lead-up to the 2026 UN Water Conference.

The EU-Egypt Water Partnership Declaration seeks to support sustainable water resource management in Egypt by leveraging European technological, scientific, and administrative expertise. It also aims to strengthen institutional capacity in integrated water resource management in line with Egypt’s national water plan.

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China has invested more than $1 trillion in overseas infrastructure projects through its massive Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese corporations are building roads and railways, dams and ports, in developing countries around the world – an initiative marked by both its enormity and opacity.

Executive editor Vernon Loeb sits down with reporters Katie Surma, Nicholas Kusnetz, and Georgina Gustin, who are investigating the Belt and Road Initiative for ICN’s “Planet China” series, and have been reporting on projects in Zambia, Indonesia, Peru and Argentina.

Watch as they assess China’s claims to be “greening” the Belt and Road Initiative, discuss why China’s overseas investments may be more important than any other country’s, and explore what Chinese-led development means for the environment and for people living near projects around the world.

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Egypt has successfully secured its water needs for the summer 2025 irrigation season, despite growing environmental and resource-related challenges, according to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilem.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Ministry confirmed that effective management of Nile water flows and Aswan High Dam operations played a central role in meeting national water demands during the peak agricultural season.

Minister Sweilem chaired a high-level meeting to assess irrigation conditions across governorates at the conclusion of the summer season. Discussions focused on Nile flood levels, inflows to Lake Nasser, and the overall performance of the High Dam’s water regulation system.

Sweilem commended ministry staff for their efforts, describing them as “a model of discipline and commitment,” and pointed to the progress of key modernization initiatives. These include water treatment and reuse projects, as well as the implementation of advanced digital systems to optimize water management and distribution.

The minister reaffirmed that securing reliable water supplies for agriculture, industry, and drinking water remains a top national priority, and highlighted ongoing coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture to enhance efficiency and support food security goals.

He also noted that ministry teams are continuing their work to remove encroachments on waterways, ensuring clear and unobstructed water flow across the country’s irrigation and drainage networks.

Egypt’s summer irrigation season typically coincides with peak water demand, especially for agricultural production. Effective water management is seen as critical amid population growth, climate change, and regional water challenges.

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In a continued effort to integrate sustainability into its national development agenda, Egypt’s Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation has unveiled its updated Economic and Social Development Plan for the fiscal year 2025/2026. A central pillar of the plan is the significant allocation of EGP 637 billion in public investments toward green projects, constituting 55% of the country’s total planned public investment.

The 2025/2026 strategy reflects Egypt’s growing commitment to addressing climate change through the expansion of sustainable infrastructure, environmental policy integration, and a comprehensive shift toward a green economy.

The plan classifies green investments across two major categories: 64% of the allocated funds will support climate change mitigation, including efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand renewable energy capacity, and improve energy efficiency. The remaining 36% is earmarked for adaptation projects, focusing on climate resilience, water security, and the protection of vulnerable sectors and communities.

This year’s plan builds on Egypt’s existing environmental and economic strategies, including the National Climate Change Strategy 2050, and aligns with its international obligations under the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By mainstreaming environmental sustainability into national development, Egypt aims to ensure long-term economic stability, enhance institutional resilience, and open new avenues for green job creation and private-sector engagement.

The ministry’s report positions green growth as both a national necessity and an economic opportunity, underlining that the ongoing increase in green investment levels is not only a response to environmental pressures but a deliberate shift in development philosophy. The integration of environmental dimensions into public policy represents a transformative approach, aimed at achieving inclusive and sustainable growth while safeguarding natural resources for future generations.

Egypt’s approach is particularly significant in the regional context, where the country continues to play a leadership role in promoting climate action. Following its hosting of COP27, Egypt has remained actively engaged in regional and global sustainability dialogues, reinforcing its position as a key stakeholder in shaping climate policy across the Middle East and Africa.

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Your article (Millions of Britons face higher risk of heart failure due to dirty air, study suggests, 8 September) is just the latest reminder that toxic air is a public health crisis. The evidence is piling up. There’s also fresh evidence that air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia.

Left unchecked, toxic air will keep shortening lives and worsening health everywhere. But the good news is that solutions are at hand. Academics at Princeton University have recently shown that cutting pollution in the US could save thousands of lives each year.

At the global scale, cleaner air would avert millions of premature deaths each year. The World Bank estimates that targeted interventions could halve the number of people exposed to dangerous levels of pollution over the next 15 years. This May, health ministers committed to halving the burden of disease from man-made air pollution by 2040.

World leaders have gathered at the UN general assembly this week and debates there will be complex and contested. But the case for action on air pollution could not be simpler and clearer. Clean air must be treated as a global priority for health, with countries working together to prevent millions of avoidable deaths and to spare many millions more from the misery of living with heart disease, dementia, asthma, lung cancer and other chronic illnesses that are caused or exacerbated by air pollution.
Jane Burston
Chief executive, Clean Air Fund

Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

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Carbon emissions from the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies have been directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for the first time, according to a new analysis. The research has been hailed as a “leap forward” in the legal battle to hold big oil accountable for the damages being caused by the climate crisis.

The research found that the emissions from any one of the 14 biggest companies were by themselves enough to cause more than 50 heatwaves that would otherwise have been virtually impossible. The study shows, in effect, that those emissions caused the heatwaves.

The carbon pollution from ExxonMobil’s fossil fuels, for example, made 51 heatwaves at least 10,000 times more likely than in an unheated world, the researchers found, as did the emissions from Saudi Aramco.

Global heating is making heatwaves more frequent and more intense across the globe, contributing to at least 500,000 heat-related deaths a year. The searing heatwave that struck the Pacific north-west of the US in 2021 was made almost 3C hotter, for example.

The new research found that the total emissions from the 180 “carbon major” companies included in the analysis were responsible for about half the increase in intensity, with emissions due to forest destruction making up most of the rest. It also found that the 213 heatwaves studied became 200 times more likely on average from 2010 to 2019 owing to the climate crisis.

“Being able to trace back the contribution of these single [carbon major] emitters and quantify their contribution could be very useful for establishing potential liability,” said Prof Sonia Seneviratne, at ETH Zurich university in Switzerland, a senior author of the report.

Dr Davide Faranda, a research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and not part of the study team, said: “This study adds a crucial new step: it connects the dots between specific climate disasters and the companies whose emissions made them possible. This bridge could become a cornerstone for legal and policy action to hold polluters accountable.”

Cassidy DiPaola, a spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign, said: “We can now point to specific heatwaves and say, ‘Saudi Aramco did this. ExxonMobil did this.’ When their emissions alone are triggering heatwaves that wouldn’t have happened otherwise, we’re talking about real people who died, real crops that failed, and real communities that suffered, all because of decisions made in corporate boardrooms.”

The world’s highest court, the international court of justice, ruled in July that failing to prevent climate harm could result in having to pay compensation, while a German high court set a legal precedent in May that fossil fuel companies could be held liable for their contribution. “Here’s the evidence the courts have been waiting for,” said DiPaola. “The bill is coming due, and it’s time these polluters pay for the damage they’ve done.”

The research, published in the journal Nature, used a type of analysis called attribution. This compares the hotter world today with the world before mass burning of fossil fuels to assess how emissions have driven up temperatures, using weather data and computer models.

The scientists first worked out how much each carbon major’s emissions had pushed up temperatures and then how much these higher temperatures increased the likelihood of heatwaves. Previous research has linked hundreds of individual events to global heating, but this study is the first to systematically analyse a series of events.

“Climate change has made each of the 213 heatwaves more likely and more intense, and the situation has worsened over time,” said Dr Yann Quilcaille of ETH Zurich, the lead author of the study.

The research found the increase in average intensity of the heatwaves rose from 1.4C in 2000-09 to 2.2C in 2020-23. The 213 major heatwaves assessed happened from 2000 to 2023 and spanned every continent. The data on them was taken from the biggest disaster database, EM-DAT, but Africa and South America were significantly underrepresented due to lack of reporting and suitable weather data.

“The study’s findings likely underestimate the true scale of these events, and the real consequences are probably far greater,” said Dr Friederike Otto, at Imperial College London.

Even the emissions from the fossil fuel companies at the bottom of the list of carbon majors had a significant impact on heatwaves. The carbon pollution from each of these caused 16 heatwaves to become at least 10,000 times more likely than before the climate crisis.

“This study is a leap forward that could be used to support future climate lawsuits,” said Dr Karsten Haustein, at the University of Leipzig in Germany, and not part of the study team. “It is also a reminder that denial and anti-science rhetoric will not make climate liability go away.”

Carbon emissions are emitted when people use oil, gas or coal to heat their homes or power their transport, but Quilcaille said fossil fuel companies had a particular responsibility – they had pursued profit through disinformation and lobbying, despite having known since the 1980s that burning fossil fuels would lead to global heating.

However, no polluter had yet been held accountable in court and challenges remained, said Prof Michael Gerrard and Dr Jessica Wentz, of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

“The problem is the various legal issues that must be resolved before scientists can take the witness stand,” they said in a commentary in Nature. The issues included which courts should hear the cases, whether fossil-fuel producers should be liable for their customers’ emissions, and if long campaigns of deception by some fossil fuel companies were relevant, Gerrard and Wentz said.

“The new study is one more building block, and a useful one, but the road to actual liability for the carbon majors is still littered with legal and evidentiary potholes,” they said.

ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco did not respond to requests for comment.

Egypt is planning to establish its first geopark in the Fayoum region and is expanding its cooperation with UNESCO on biodiversity and environmental protection, the environment ministry said.

The plans were discussed in a Tuesday meeting between Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of Environment, Manal Awad, and Nuria Sanz, UNESCO’s regional director for Cairo and Sudan, at the ministry’sheadquarters in the New Administrative Capital. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and UNESCO’s Cairo office.

Awad said a working group from Cairo University and the Environmental Affairs Agency has been formed to establish criteria for the Fayoum geopark. She added that future plans also include declaring new national marine parks and designating Saint Catherine as a cultural reserve.

During the meeting, Sanz invited Egypt to participate in the Fifth World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, which will be held in China in late September. The congress is expected to bring together around 3,000 experts from 136 countries to seta new global action plan for the next decade, in line with global biodiversity goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the U.N. sustainable development agenda.

Sanz emphasized the importance of Egypt’s participation in showcasing its conservation experience, highlighting Cairo’srole in advancing environmental diplomacy, particularly after hosting the COP27 climate summit. She added that cooperation with Egypt would also support its efforts in developing UNESCO’s Geoparks programme at the national level and in hosting the Barcelona Convention meeting on Mediterranean marine protection in December.

Awad noted that Egypt has worked closely with UNESCO to establish and manage several existing biosphere reserves, including Wadi El Rayan, El Omayed, Saint Catherine, and Wadi El-Hitan, to protect biodiversity and promote environmental sustainability.

 

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Environmental scientists are increasingly using enormous artificial intelligence models to make predictions about changes in weather and climate, but a new study by MIT researchers shows that bigger models are not always better.

The team demonstrates that, in certain climate scenarios, much simpler, physics-based models can generate more accurate predictions than state-of-the-art deep-learning models.

Their analysis also reveals that a benchmarking technique commonly used to evaluate machine-learning techniques for climate predictions can be distorted by natural variations in the data, like fluctuations in weather patterns. This could lead someone to believe a deep-learning model makes more accurate predictions when that is not the case.

The researchers developed a more robust way of evaluating these techniques, which shows that, while simple models are more accurate when estimating regional surface temperatures, deep-learning approaches can be the best choice for estimating local rainfall.

They used these results to enhance a simulation tool known as a climate emulator, which can rapidly simulate the effect of human activities onto a future climate.

The researchers see their work as a “cautionary tale” about the risk of deploying large AI models for climate science. While deep-learning models have shown incredible success in domains such as natural language, climate science contains a proven set of physical laws and approximations, and the challenge becomes how to incorporate those into AI models.

“We are trying to develop models that are going to be useful and relevant for the kinds of things that decision-makers need going forward when making climate policy choices. While it might be attractive to use the latest, big-picture machine-learning model on a climate problem, what this study shows is that stepping back and really thinking about the problem fundamentals is important and useful,” says study senior author Noelle Selin, a professor in the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), and director of the Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy.

Selin’s co-authors are lead author Björn Lütjens, a former EAPS postdoc who is now a research scientist at IBM Research; senior author Raffaele Ferrari, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Oceanography in EAPS and co-director of the Lorenz Center; and Duncan Watson-Parris, assistant professor at the University of California at San Diego. Selin and Ferrari are also co-principal investigators of the Bringing Computation to the Climate Challenge project, out of which this research emerged. The paper appears today in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems.

Comparing emulators

Because the Earth’s climate is so complex, running a state-of-the-art climate model to predict how pollution levels will impact environmental factors like temperature can take weeks on the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

Scientists often create climate emulators, simpler approximations of a state-of-the art climate model, which are faster and more accessible. A policymaker could use a climate emulator to see how alternative assumptions on greenhouse gas emissions would affect future temperatures, helping them develop regulations.

But an emulator isn’t very useful if it makes inaccurate predictions about the local impacts of climate change. While deep learning has become increasingly popular for emulation, few studies have explored whether these models perform better than tried-and-true approaches.

The MIT researchers performed such a study. They compared a traditional technique called linear pattern scaling (LPS) with a deep-learning model using a common benchmark dataset for evaluating climate emulators.

Their results showed that LPS outperformed deep-learning models on predicting nearly all parameters they tested, including temperature and precipitation.

“Large AI methods are very appealing to scientists, but they rarely solve a completely new problem, so implementing an existing solution first is necessary to find out whether the complex machine-learning approach actually improves upon it,” says Lütjens.

Some initial results seemed to fly in the face of the researchers’ domain knowledge. The powerful deep-learning model should have been more accurate when making predictions about precipitation, since those data don’t follow a linear pattern.

They found that the high amount of natural variability in climate model runs can cause the deep learning model to perform poorly on unpredictable long-term oscillations, like El Niño/La Niña. This skews the benchmarking scores in favor of LPS, which averages out those oscillations.

Constructing a new evaluation

From there, the researchers constructed a new evaluation with more data that address natural climate variability. With this new evaluation, the deep-learning model performed slightly better than LPS for local precipitation, but LPS was still more accurate for temperature predictions.

“It is important to use the modeling tool that is right for the problem, but in order to do that you also have to set up the problem the right way in the first place,” Selin says.

Based on these results, the researchers incorporated LPS into a climate emulation platform to predict local temperature changes in different emission scenarios.

“We are not advocating that LPS should always be the goal. It still has limitations. For instance, LPS doesn’t predict variability or extreme weather events,” Ferrari adds.

Rather, they hope their results emphasize the need to develop better benchmarking techniques, which could provide a fuller picture of which climate emulation technique is best suited for a particular situation.

“With an improved climate emulation benchmark, we could use more complex machine-learning methods to explore problems that are currently very hard to address, like the impacts of aerosols or estimations of extreme precipitation,” Lütjens says.

Ultimately, more accurate benchmarking techniques will help ensure policymakers are making decisions based on the best available information.

The researchers hope others build on their analysis, perhaps by studying additional improvements to climate emulation methods and benchmarks. Such research could explore impact-oriented metrics like drought indicators and wildfire risks, or new variables like regional wind speeds.

This research is funded, in part, by Schmidt Sciences, LLC, and is part of the MIT Climate Grand Challenges team for “Bringing Computation to the Climate Challenge.”

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Egypt’s government is looking to draw greater private-sector participation into its waste management system, with plans under discussion for a 650 million Egyptian pound recycling plant to process waste from new residential complexes, the environment ministry said Sunday.

Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Acting Environment Minister, met with MP Mohamed El Hennawy, CEO of a major real estate company, to explore cooperation on utilising daily waste generated from new cities and housing compounds, the ministry said in a statement.

The minister said the government is committed to encouraging investment in recycling plants, creating a supportive climate for environmental projects, and leveraging private-sector involvement to operate and manage waste infrastructure. She added that an integrated waste management city in 10th of Ramadan could serve as a hub for the initiative, with potential for a biogas unit to produce organic fertiliser to support Egypt’s push for sustainable farming and agricultural exports.

El Hennawy, said the proposed plant would recycle household, garden, and treatment-plant waste using Egyptian-made equipment. Output would include fertilisers for use in gardens and green spaces within the new communities, the ministry added.

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As Connecticut residents push through another hot, humid summer, local health experts are again warning that hotter days may be ahead, especially if the federal government is successful in moves to roll back major climate change policy.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced in late July that it plans to end a decade-old Obama-era climate policy known as the “endangerment finding.” Enacted in 2009, it allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act.  The endangerment finding is at the heart of several federal climate rules and regulations for motor vehicle emissions, power plants and other significant sources of pollution.

The Trump administration claims vehicle emissions rules burden Americans and automakers with high costs, despite evidence linking greenhouse gases to climate change. Its proposal would repeal these regulations, which it says would save $54 billion annually.

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A brutal heatwave roasting Spain and Portugal this month has finally begun easing as weather conditions improve and firefighters make progress in their battle against deadly wildfires.

The scorching heat, which estimates have linked to more than 1,100 deaths in Spain alone, has raised questions about how the countries can prepare for the future, given rising average temperatures driven by climate change.

This month’s 16-day heatwave was Spain’s most intense on record, with average temperatures 4.6°C above previous highs set in July 2022, Spanish meteorological authorities said on Sunday.

Heat fuels deadly wildfires

The August heatwave exacerbated tinderbox conditions in Spain, stoking wildfires that continue to ravage parts of the north and west of the country.

In neighbouring Portugal, a firefighter died on Saturday battling a wildfire in Sabugal, which borders Spain. He was the fourth firefighter killed in Portugal, and another four people have been killed directly by wildfires in Spain as well, according to authorities.

Across the Iberian Peninsula, nearly 900,000 hectares have been scorched by the fires.

The tides finally seem to be turning in Spain, though head of Spain’s emergency service Virginia Barcones said there were still 18 “treacherous” fires burning.

“We will need a final push to be done with this horrible situation,” she told TVE television. “There are fewer of them and the end is a lot nearer.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said there were “still critical moments ahead”.

EU response, and a political backlash

The European Commission has taken a largely reactive approach.

 

The EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism sent four planes, five helicopters and 230 firefighters to Spain to help tackle the fires. Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s crisis commissioner, dubbed it the “largest wildfire response operation this year”.

In Spain and Portugal, questions are mounting over how the countries have responded to climate change and possible political mismanagement in the face of the heatwaves and fires.

Farmland and rural areas in the northwestern Spanish region of Castilla y León, for example, were particularly hard-hit by the blazes.

Spain’s opposition conservative People’s Party have accused Sánchez’s government of withholding aid to badly affected regions governed by conservative local politicians.

In Portugal, several at a funeral for a firefighter killed in the fires said that the country’s prime minister, Luís Montenegro, was “not welcome in this city“.

Scientists say that climate change is to blame for driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves across the world, including in Europe. Lower humidity in the air, vegetation and soil make it easier for wildfires to ignite – and make the blazes harder to control.

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  • Worldwide, land area consumed by wildfires decreased by 26 percent from 2002 to 2021.
  • During the same time, human exposure to blazes jumped by 40 percent, with Africa accounting for most of it.
  • The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 21, 2025 — Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions have spotted a contradiction in worldwide wildfire trends: Despite a 26 percent decline in total burned area from 2002 to 2021, the number of people exposed to wildfires has surged by nearly 40 percent.

The study, published today in Science, revealed another statistic that may come as a surprise to people who rely primarily on Western news sources: While high-profile wildfire disasters in the United States, Canada and Australia often dominate headlines, the researchers found that 85 percent of all human exposures to wildfires during that period occurred in Africa.

Just five central African countries – Congo, South Sudan, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola – accounted for half of all global human exposure. In contrast, the United States, Europe and Australia collectively constituted less than 2.5 percent of the total.

“Nevertheless, the western U.S. and particularly California are hot spots of intense fires globally,” said senior author Mojtaba Sadegh, an associate professor of civil engineering at Idaho’s Boise State University who earned a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine in 2015. “Our previously published study shows that California experiences a disproportionately large share of U.S. fire impacts, accounting for 72 percent of human exposures despite comprising 15 percent of the nation’s burned area.”

The researchers analyzed population data and more than 18.6 million fire records from 2002 to 2021 to find that an estimated 440 million people worldwide were exposed to a wildfire encroaching on their home during this period – a number roughly equivalent to the entire population of the European Union. They discovered that human exposure to wildland fire increased by 7.7 million people, an average of 382,700 persons per year during the study period. This surge in human exposure was prompted not by a global jump in fire activity but primarily by population growth and migration into fire-prone landscapes.

Another factor illuminated by the research is a significant rise in the intensity of wildfires in North and South America. This is linked to the climate change-driven amplification of “fire weather,” which includes conditions like increased heat, lower humidity and strong winds.

Extreme fire weather has grown by more than 50 percent over the past four decades globally.

When combined with such human activities as land development and historical fire suppression practices, this trend has led to an escalating risk of destructive fires in regions like California. The frequency of conditions conducive to extreme-impact wildfires (like the 2025 Los Angeles fires) quadrupled from 1990 to 2022 across the state.

In Europe and Oceania, the study noted a decline in wildfire exposures, mainly because of population shifts from rural to urban areas. This highlights how both social and environmental factors play critical roles in shaping wildfire risk.

“The global paradox of decreased burn area and increased human impacts we uncovered … is due largely to an increasing overlap between human settlements and fire-prone landscapes,” said co-author Amir AghaKouchak, UC Irvine Chancellor’s Professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Underscoring a growing human vulnerability to wildfires – particularly in regions that receive little international attention – the research emphasizes the urgent need for proactive mitigation strategies to protect communities from the burgeoning threat of wildfires. These include vegetation management techniques like prescribed fires, public education and engineering solutions to reduce human-caused ignitions.

“As climate change intensifies fire weather and global populations continue to expand into fire-prone zones, proactive mitigation will be increasingly critical to reduce the risk of future wildfire disasters,” AghaKouchak said.

“The apparent increase in damaging and destructive wildfire impacts on society has until now seemed perplexing because the area burned by fires globally has been falling,” said co-author Matthew Jones, Ph.D., senior research fellow at England’s University of East Anglia. “By closely analyzing the shifting geography of both fire and population, this study brings vital clarity: Our work shows that wildfires really are becoming more frequent and intense in populated areas. These changes bring danger to life, damage to property and threat to livelihood.”

Study collaborators included Seyd Teymoor Seydi of Boise State University; John Abatzoglou and Crystal Kolden of UC Merced; Gabriel Filippelli of Indiana University Indianapolis; Matthew Hurteau of the University of New Mexico; Charles Luce of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Boise; and Chiyuan Miao of Beijing Normal University. Funding was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

About UC Irvine’s Brilliant Future campaign: Publicly launched on Oct. 4, 2019, the Brilliant Future campaign aims to raise awareness and support for the university. By engaging 75,000 alumni and garnering $2 billion in philanthropic investment, UC Irvine seeks to reach new heights of excellence in student success, health and wellness, research and more. The Samueli School of Engineering plays a vital role in the success of the campaign. Learn more by visiting https://brilliantfuture.UC Irvine.edu/the-henry-samueli-school-of-engineering

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources.

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  • This weekly round-up contains the key nature and climate news from the past week.
  • Top nature and climate news: Global plastics treaty talks breakdown; biochar could solve fertilizer shortages; severe flooding in Pakistan.

1. What happened at INC-5.2

No agreement to reach stricter, enforceable rules to reduce plastic pollution was achieved after 10 days of negotiations by nations at the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2).

The INC-5.2 negotiations, which took place from 5-14 August, aimed to finalise a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution, addressing the full lifecycle of plastics from design to disposal.

The meeting drew more than 2,600 participants, with more than 1,400 member delegates from 183 countries.

Each nation must agree to any proposals in the treaty and consensus could not be reached on key issues, such as whether the treaty should impose caps on new plastic production or put its focus instead on waste management, reuse and improved design.

Talks will resume in the future, though no date has been set. Despite the disappointment of all involved, INC Chair Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso expressed optimism in a statement: “It should not lead to discouragement. On the contrary, it should spur us to regain our energy, renew our commitments, and unite our aspirations.”

To learn more about what led to these critical negotiations, what happened this month and what’s next for a plastics treaty, read our explainer.

2. Biochar from human waste could solve fertilizer shortages

A type of engineered charcoal made from human waste could help to solve global fertilizer shortages, a study has found.

Biochar is made from organic matter treated at high heat, which can then be used as fertilizer by the agricultural industry. The new research estimates that biochar made from human waste could provide up to 7% of the phosphorus – a key component of fertilizer – used around the world each year.

The biochar process.

How biochar is made. Image: AGICO Cement Machinery

The researchers also found that the process of creating biochar could decrease both the weight and volume of solid waste by up to 90%, which will help to reduce storage and transport costs, as well as decarbonize the process further.

The current process of transporting sewage sludge is inefficient due to its high water content, which makes it heavy.

The biochar production process has one other advantage too. It allows the proportions of nutrients present to be adjusted according to the needs of individual crops, helping to tackle weed growth and runoff pollution.

3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week

Severe flooding in Pakistan has killed over 300 people since 15 August. Heavy rain has caused flash foods as well as mud and rock slides, ruining local infrastructure and threatening lives, as you can see in the following video:

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In Alaska meanwhile, newly installed barriers have managed to prevent record levels of flooding in the capital city, after the nearby Mendenhall Glacier released a surge of rainwater and snowmelt.

The timelapse below shows the glacier rising steadily and then suddenly dropping within a short span of two weeks. The temporary barriers “really have protected our community”, Juneau city manager Katie Koester told a news conference.

Mendenhall Glacier timelapse.

Mendenhall Glacier. Image: United States Geological Survey

In Spain, firefighters battled 20 major wildfires over the weekend. The situation became so dire that the government was forced to deploy an additional 500 troops from the military emergency unit to support firefighting operations, Reuters reports.

The UK’s seas have been particularly warm this year, so much so that new species have been brought to its waters. Scientists have observed a range of species not usually widespread in UK waters, including octopus, bluefin tuna and mauve stinger jellyfish, the BBC reports.

Geneva has made public transport temporarily free of charge, with the aim of tackling a spike in air pollution across the city. This comes after the city’s anti-smog system showed that ozone concentrations had exceeded safety thresholds. Ozone pollution can cause respiratory issues and headaches.

Climate change is harming a world heritage site in Burkina Faso, as unpredictable weather patterns erode the painted houses of Tiébélé and make restoration efforts complicated, The Guardian reports.

4. More on the nature and climate crisis from Forum Stories

Recent years have witnessed some of the most widespread and damaging droughts in recorded history. The global land area affected by dry conditions has more than doubled since 1900, according to the OECD, as the chart below shows.

Flourish logoA Flourish chart

The impacts are wide-ranging, from devastating crops to slowing down global trade, no country is immune to the consequences. Here’s everything you need to know about this global risk.

Viet Nam accounts for 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with about 27% of that recycled. But the country is also emerging as a potential leader in tackling the problem. The stories of two of the country’s informal waste workers feature in a short documentary from the World Economic Forum called Invisible Warriors: The Force Behind Viet Nam’s Plastic Action. Watch the full documentary below, or you can read a summary article here.

Technology and data are powerful tools in tackling risks. In this episode of #MeetTheLeader, Jake Loosararian, Gecko Robotics Co-founder, explores how AI and robotics could do more to tackle stubborn challenges, including tackling emissions, if only they had the right data. Listen to the full episode below:

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Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Wednesday witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on green hydrogen cooperation between the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). The ceremony was attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

The signing took place on the sidelines of Madbouly’s participation—on behalf of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi—in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in Yokohama, Japan.

The MoU was signed by Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairperson of the SCZONE, and Tanaka Shinichi, Director General, Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Madbouly stressed that cooperation with Japan, as a strategic development partner, carries great significance for Egypt given the high priority the state assigns to the renewable energy sector. He highlighted Egypt’s ambition to position itself as a regional and global hub for the production and export of green hydrogen, in line with international energy transition trends.

The agreement aims to enhance collaboration between the two sides in advancing green hydrogen projects from both environmental and economic perspectives. It includes provisions for the exchange of expertise, knowledge, and technical information; initiatives to stimulate market demand and expand applications; and the facilitation of mutual visits to strengthen and develop long-term cooperative relations.

 

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Thousands signed petition to “Save Hankorab” after finding a contract between an unnamed government entity and an investment company to build a resort

Egypt:

In Egypt’s Wadi al-Gemal, where swimmers share a glistening bay with sea turtles, a shadowy tourism deal is threatening one of the Red Sea’s last wild shores.

Off Ras Hankorab, the endangered green turtles weave between coral gardens that marine biologists call among the most resilient to climate change in the world.

By night in nesting season, they crawl ashore under the Milky Way’s glow, undisturbed by artificial lights.

So when excavators rolled onto the sand in March, reserve staff and conservationists sounded the alarm.

Thousands signed a petition to “Save Hankorab” after discovering a contract between an unnamed government entity and an investment company to build a resort.

The environment ministry — which has jurisdiction over the park — protested, construction was halted, and the machinery quietly removed.

But months later, parliamentary requests for details have gone unanswered, and insiders say the plans remain alive.

“Only certain kinds of tourism development work for a beach like this,” said Mahmoud Hanafy, a marine biology professor and scientific adviser to the Red Sea governorate.

“Noise, lights, heavy human activity — they could destroy the ecosystem.”

Hankorab sits inside Wadi al-Gemal National Park, declared a protected area in 2003.

Coastal expansion

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) describes it as home to “some of the last undisturbed natural beaches on the Southern Red Sea coast” — an area now caught between environmental protection and Egypt’s urgent push for investment.

 

Egypt, mired in its worst economic crisis in decades, is betting big on its 3,000 kilometres of coastline as a revenue source.

A $35-billion deal with the United Arab Emirates to develop Ras al-Hekma on the Mediterranean set the tone, and similar proposals for the Red Sea have followed.

In June, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi allocated 174,400 square kilometres (67,300 square miles) of Red Sea land to the finance ministry to help cut public debt.

The Red Sea — where tourism is the main employer — is key to Cairo’s plan to attract 30 million visitors by 2028, double today’s numbers.

Yet the UNDP warned as early as 2019 that Egyptian tourism growth had “largely been at the expense of the environment”.

Since then, luxury resorts and gated compounds have spread along hundreds of kilometres, displacing communities and damaging fragile habitats.

“The goal is to make as much money as possible from developing these reserves, which means destroying them,” said environmental lawyer Ahmed al-Seidi.

“It also violates the legal obligations of the nature reserves law.”

Legal limbo

At Hankorab, Hanafy says the core problem is legal.

“The company signed a contract with a government entity other than the one managing the reserve,” he said.

If true, Seidi says, the deal is “null and void”.

When construction was reported in March, MP Maha Abdel Nasser sought answers from the environment ministry and the prime minister — but got none.

At a subsequent meeting, officials could not identify the company behind the project, and no environmental impact report was produced.

Construction is still halted, “which is reassuring, at least for now”, Abdel Nasser said. “But there are no guarantees about the future.”

For now, the most visible change is a newly built gate marked “Ras Hankorab” in Latin letters.

Entry now costs 300 Egyptian pounds ($6) — five times more than before — with tickets that do not name the issuing authority.

An employee who started in March recalls that before the project, there were “only a few umbrellas and unusable bathrooms”.

Today, there are new toilets, towels, and sun loungers, with a cafe and restaurant promised soon.

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Wadi al Gemal National Park, nestled along Egypt’s Red Sea coastline, is home to one of the last undisturbed natural beaches in the region. This protected area has long been a haven for swimmers and marine life, including endangered green turtles that nest on its shores. However, recent developments threaten to disrupt the delicate balance between tourism and conservation in this pristine environment.

The Allure of Hankorab Beach

The allure of Hankorab Beach lies in its untouched beauty. It is not only an idyllic spot for tourists but also serves as a vital nesting ground for green turtles. Every year, during the nesting season, these turtles crawl ashore to lay their eggs under the serene glow of the Milky Way, far from the disturbances of modern life. The surrounding coral reefs are among the most resilient to climate change, making this area a rare treasure in the face of environmental challenges.

The beach has long remained a sanctuary, free from the blinding lights and noisy machinery that characterize other popular tourist destinations. However, this peaceful existence was shattered when, in March, construction machinery arrived at Hankorab, signaling the beginning of a resort development that would significantly alter the area’s natural landscape.

The Controversial Development

The construction plans were revealed after a contract between a mysterious investment company and an unnamed government entity came to light. The environmental ministry, which holds jurisdiction over the Wadi al Gemal National Park, promptly raised concerns. The development was halted, and the machinery was quietly removed from the site. However, the matter is far from resolved, as parliamentary requests for details have gone unanswered, leaving environmentalists and local residents in a state of uncertainty.

Environmental and Legal Concerns

Experts are deeply concerned about the potential consequences of such a large-scale development in a protected area. The ecosystem at Hankorab is extremely fragile, and the introduction of noise, lights, and heavy human activity could spell disaster for the local flora and fauna. The green turtles, which have long been the symbol of the beach’s natural heritage, could be driven away by the intrusion of development, further endangering their population.

One of the core issues lies in the legality of the agreement between the government and the investment company. Reports suggest that the contract was signed by a government entity other than the one responsible for managing the park. According to experts, this could render the deal invalid under Egyptian law. However, the absence of a formal response from government officials has left the matter in a legal limbo, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the park’s future.

Despite the construction being halted for the time being, there are no guarantees that the project won’t be revived in the future. The situation has left locals and conservationists concerned that the park’s protection status may be compromised for economic gain.

Tourism vs. Conservation: A Delicate Balance

As Egypt grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades, tourism is seen as a critical avenue for revenue generation. The government is increasingly turning to its 3,000-kilometer coastline as a major source of income, with massive resort developments being proposed along the Red Sea. A recent $35 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates to develop Ras al-Hekma on the Mediterranean coast has set a precedent for similar initiatives along the Red Sea.

The push to develop the Red Sea’s coastal areas has raised concerns among environmental groups, as they warn that such growth is often achieved at the expense of the environment. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has previously warned that the expansion of tourism in Egypt is leading to the destruction of fragile ecosystems. Luxury resorts and gated compounds have already spread along hundreds of kilometers of coastline, displacing local communities and harming habitats that are vital to biodiversity.

The Future of Wadi al Gemal National Park

The fate of Wadi al Gemal National Park, particularly Hankorab Beach, now hangs in the balance. While the construction at Hankorab has been halted for now, the future remains uncertain. The local authorities have yet to provide clarity on the ongoing development plans. Meanwhile, the beach has already seen visible changes, including the construction of a new gate marked with the name “Ras Hankorab” in Latin letters. The cost of entry to the beach has been raised significantly, and new amenities, such as toilets and sun loungers, have been installed, signaling the beginning of commercialization at the site.

The introduction of these changes without an environmental impact assessment has sparked further concerns. It remains unclear whether the proposed resort will disrupt the park’s ecosystem, but many fear that the development could eventually lead to the destruction of one of Egypt’s last untouched Red Sea beaches.

Tourism and Economic Development in Egypt

Despite the ongoing legal and environmental uncertainties, the government remains determined to harness the potential of its coastal areas. Egypt is setting ambitious targets to double the number of visitors to the country by 2028. However, experts warn that such rapid development may not be sustainable in the long term, especially if it comes at the expense of environmental protection.

The Red Sea, where tourism is a major economic driver, faces a critical challenge: balancing growth with sustainability. While new investments in tourism infrastructure can help boost Egypt’s economy, they must be carefully managed to ensure that the country’s natural resources are not irreparably harmed in the process.

A Threat to Sustainability

Wadi al Gemal National Park stands at a crossroads. The ongoing battle between tourism development and environmental preservation in the region reflects the broader challenges facing Egypt’s tourism sector. With the park’s future uncertain, conservationists and residents alike continue to call for greater transparency and stricter enforcement of environmental regulations. The fate of Hankorab Beach will likely serve as a pivotal case in the ongoing debate over how Egypt’s natural treasures should be managed in the face of economic pressures.

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Diplomats in Geneva are racing to clinch a last-minute agreement on a global plastics pact and rescue fraught talks from collapsing without a deal.

As negotiations neared the end of their final day at the UN headquarters in the Swiss city, government delegates were still waiting for the latest version of a draft treaty text being prepared by the chair of the talks after nearly all countries rejected a previous proposal tabled on Wednesday.

That text – which wholly excluded measures aimed at reducing plastic production – was variously described as “repulsive”, “entirely unacceptable” and “wholly inadequate” by country representatives in heated exchanges during a three hour-long plenary session on Wednesday.

Dozens of diplomats from the self-styled “high-ambition coalition” of around 75 countries and the European Union argued that the chair’s proposal failed to tackle the full lifecycle of plastics – including polymers primarily derived from fossil fuels – and was based on voluntary, rather than binding, measures.

Show courage to vote for a strong plastics treaty, campaigners urge countries

Campaign group Greenpeace described the text as a “gift to the petrochemical industry and a betrayal of humanity”.

But even many fossil fuel-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – speaking on behalf of the self-styled “Like-Minded” group – voiced disappointment with the proposal on Wednesday. They complained that it failed the define the scope of the treaty, which they want to be clearly narrowed to downstream measures like waste management.

Weak deal would ‘fail the world’

Frantic consultations and bilateral meetings followed in the last 24 hours of the ten-day talks in a bid to break a long-standing deadlock and find a difficult compromise that could bring all countries on board after two and a half years of discussions.

In a message sent to country delegates on Thursday afternoon, Valdivieso said he trusted that “the revised proposal will bring us to the delivery of our collective mission”.

“I count on your resolute support and spirit of flexibility as we reach the summit together,” he added.

Panama’s Juan Carlos Monterrey-Gomez speaks on the final day of negotiations in Geneva. Photo: Trixie Guerrero / BFFP

As a final plenary meeting kept getting delayed on Thursday evening, Juan Carlos Monterrey-Gomez, Panama’s special representative for climate change, hopped on a podium flanked by campaigners and spoke out behind a banner with the message “weak UN treaty fails the world”.

He urged delegates to “work harder” in the remaining hours as “this might be our last chance to get a global framework”.

Monterrey-Gomez reiterated that the treaty needs to tackle “unhinged plastic production” and send the same kind of signals as the Paris Agreement on climate change which “unlocked innovation” in renewables and electric mobility.

COP30 host Brazil drops support for plastic products ban in new global pact

Earlier in the day, French President Emmanuel Macron also called on countries to “adopt a text that is on par with the environmental and health emergency” caused by the plastics crisis. “What are we waiting for to act?” he asked in a message posted on LinkedIn.

Before restarting talks in Geneva nine days ago, countries had already failed to clinch an agreement at what was meant to be the final round of negotiations in Busan, South Korea, in December last year.

Since then, positions have remained broadly entrenched with the exception of the United States which has more closely aligned itself with fellow oil and gas-producing nations that are pushing for a light-touch treaty without any provisions to curb plastic production.

Rising tide of plastic

Plastic production is set to almost triple by 2060 without intervention, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Only 9% of plastic is recycled globally, with the majority ending up in landfills or leaking into oceans and rivers. As nearly all plastic is made from planet-heating oil, gas and coal, the sector’s trajectory will have a significant impact on global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the Paris Agreement climate goals.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday morning, Sivendra Michael, Fiji’s lead negotiator, said he refused to leave Geneva empty-handed after travelling for three days to reach the negotiations.

“I have complete faith and hope they are pushing beyond limit to try and find a compromise,” he added. “It is high time we make difficult decisions and deliver on a fair and balanced treaty for all.”

On Thursday evening, as the clock ticked down, it was unclear whether he would be returning home with the hoped-for deal or whether his arduous journey would have been in vain.

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Environment minister says blazes, in which two people have died, are proof of country’s vulnerability to global heating

The heatwave-fuelled wildfires that have killed two people in Spain over recent days, devouring thousands of hectares of land and forcing thousands of people from their homes, are a “clear warning” of the impact of the climate emergency, the country’s environment minister has said.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, as firefighters in Spain, Greece and other Mediterranean countries continued to battle dozens of blazes, Sara Aagesen said the 14 wildfires still burning across seven Spanish regions were further proof of the country’s particular vulnerability to global heating.

Aagesen said that while some of the fires appeared to have been started deliberately, the deadly blazes were a clear indicator of the climate emergency and of the need for better preparation and prevention.

“The fires are one of the parts of the impact of that climate change, which is why we have to do all we can when it comes to prevention,” she told Cadena Ser radio.

“Our country is especially vulnerable to climate change. We have resources now but, given that the scientific evidence and the general expectation point to it having an ever greater impact, we need to work to reinforce and professionalise those resources.”

The Spanish government on Wednesday said it has asked the European Union for its help, in particular for two water-bombing planes. “We officially asked tonight” for the assistance, interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Cadena Ser.

Aagesen’s comments came a day after temperatures in parts of southern Spain surged past 45C (113F). The state meteorological office, Aemet, said there were no recorded precedents for the temperatures experienced between 1 August and 20 August.

A 35-year-old volunteer firefighter died on Tuesday in the north-western Spanish region of Castilla y León, where fires have prompted the evacuation of more than 8,000 residents, and where seven people are being treated in hospital for serious burns. Four are in a critical condition.

The firefighter’s death came hours after that of a 50-year-old man who suffered 98% burns while trying to save horses from a burning stable near Madrid on Monday night.

By Wednesday morning, the Madrid fire had been brought under control, but blazes in the far north-western region Galicia had consumed 11,500 hectares (30,000 acres) of land by the end of the day.

“Emergency teams are continuing to fight fires across our country,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said in a post on X on Wednesday. “The fire situation remains serious and extreme caution is essential. My thanks, once again, to all of you who are working tirelessly to fight the flames.”

Neighbouring Portugal deployed more than 2,100 firefighters and 20 aircraft against five big blazes, with efforts focused on a fire in the central municipality of Trancoso that has raged since Saturday.

Strong gusts of wind had rekindled flames overnight and threatened nearby villages, where television images showed local people volunteering to help firefighters under a thick cloud of smoke.

In Greece, which requested EU aerial assistance on Tuesday, close to 5,000 firefighters were battling blazes fanned by gale-force winds nationwide. Authorities said emergency workers were waging a “a titanic battle” to douse flames still raging through the western Peloponnese, in Epirus farther north, and on the islands of Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Chios, where thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated from homes and hotels.

Local media reported the wildfires had decimated houses, farms and factories and forced people to flee. Fifteen firefighters and two volunteers had suffered burns and other injuries including “symptoms of heatstroke”, the fire service said.

A man moves goats during a wildfire
A man moves goats during a wildfire in Vounteni, on the outskirts of Patras, Greece, on Wednesday. Photograph: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP

Around midnight a huge blaze erupted on Chios, devouring land that had only begun to recover from devastating wildfires in June. As the flames reached the shores, the coastguard rushed to remove people on boats to safety.

On the other side of Greece, outside the western city of Patras, volunteers with the Hellenic Red Cross struggled to contain infernos barrelling towards villages and towns. By lunchtime on Wednesday, media footage showed flames on the outskirts of Patras, Greece’s third-largest city. Municipal authorities announced a shelter had been set up to provide refuge, food and water for those in need.

Officials evacuated a children’s hospital and a retirement home in the city as a precaution, and local media footage showed the roof of a 17th-century monastery outside the city on fire.

Seventeen settlements around Preveza, where fires broke out Tuesday, were reported to be without electricity or water.

“Today is also expected to be very difficult as in most areas of the country a very high risk of fire is forecast,” a fire service spokesperson, Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, said in a televised address. “By order of the head of the fire brigade, all services nationwide, including civil protection forces, will be in a state of alert.”

Three firefighters lying down
Firefighters take a quick rest in Izmir, Turkey, on Wednesday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

At first light, 33 water-dumping planes and helicopters scrambled to extinguish fires, he said.

Temperatures exceeding 35C (95F) are predicted, according to some meteorologists, to rise further later this week, the height of the summer for Greeks. Record heat and prolonged drought have already turned much of the country tinder-dry, producing conditions ripe for forest fires.

A forestry worker was killed on Wednesday while responding to a wildfire in southern Turkey, officials said. The forestry ministry said the worker died in an accident involving a fire truck that left four others injured.

Turkey has been battling severe wildfires since late June. A total of 18 people have been killed, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers who died in July.

In southern Albania a wildfire caused explosions after detonating buried second world war-era artillery shells. Officials said on Wednesday an 80-year-old man had died in one blaze south of the capital, Tirana.

The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

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An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 5, 2025 shows a view of Jingshan Village in Yuhang District of Hangzhou City, east China’s Zhejiang Province. In recent years, the village has been boosting coordinated development of its tea industry and tourist service through creative projects such as digital tea gardens and low-carbon homestays, aiming to convert ecological advantages into economic propellers. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)

by Xinhua writer Mahmoud Fouly

CAIRO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — China has become a world leader in green transformation, offering environmental solutions that reach beyond its borders and contribute to global sustainable development, said a senior Egyptian ecologist.

“China has made remarkable progress in curbing pollution and is steadily expanding access to clean water while also expanding its green cover,” Magdy Allam, an advisor to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an international environmental funding organization, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

He commended China as a champion of clean energy, noting that sustained investments in afforestation, water purification, and pollution control have fueled a sweeping environmental transformation.

Allam also praised China’s leading role in battery and e-waste recycling — a sector where China’s recycling processes achieve high recovery rates for valuable materials like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, crucial for battery production. What was once considered worthless trash is now treated as “a valuable feedstock for new energy,” he said.

China has become a global leader in solar and renewable energy, setting records for both capacity and deployment, he added.

Allam highlighted China’s concept “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” as a transformative vision that has guided the country’s ecological policies for the past two decades.

Proposed 20 years ago, the concept underscores the imperative of ecological protection in tandem with economic and social development. Allam said it has become a cornerstone of China’s environmental efforts.

Allam, who has visited China several times, hailed the mountain-to-forest restoration driven by the concept as among the country’s most striking environmental feats.

Official data show that China planted 4.45 million hectares of trees, improved 3.22 million hectares of grassland, and treated 2.45 million hectares of desertified land in 2024.

“While in many countries the green cover is vanishing, China is accelerating efforts to expand it,” he said, citing the rapid reforestation of once-barren areas in China.

China has moved faster than most nations in shifting from high-pollution production toward cleaner technologies and greener supply chains, cutting emissions per unit of GDP while continuing to expand output, he noted.

Allam highlighted that green transformation is also about economic development. “China cherishes water resources, highly values the green economy, and pays exceptional attention to the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

The Egyptian ecologist observed that China’s sustainability drive is grounded in long-term planning and decisive actions, from planting forests to phasing out fossil fuels and spearheading the transition to clean energy.

Beyond its domestic achievements, Allam emphasized that China plays an increasingly vital role in supporting sustainable development across Africa, the Arab region, and the broader Global South.

“China is actively assisting African countries, including Egypt, especially in technology, expertise, and new renewable energy,” he said.

The expert highlighted China’s role in Egypt’s energy projects as a prime example, citing the massive solar power project in Benban, Aswan, where Chinese companies played a key role.

17e70982f4be4fc3b74196227beeb547.JPEG

A worker cleans solar panels at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Aswan, Egypt, on April 21, 2024. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

He also hailed Egypt-China cooperation in green transport and energy, including the local production of electric vehicles.

China’s green partnerships extend beyond infrastructure, offering technology transfer and enabling countries across the Global South to leap toward sustainable, low-emission economies, according to the expert.

Developing countries, especially in Africa and the Arab world, view China as a trusted partner in building a sustainable future, he added.

Source

Egypt is accelerating its cross-government environmental response strategy ahead of the seasonal spike in pollution across the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, launching coordinated plans to reduce emissions from agricultural waste and improve water quality in polluted drainage canals.

In parallel to preparations for combating the annual “black cloud” of smog caused by rice straw burning in the Delta, the government is also tackling industrial and residential pollution in key waterways, particularly the El-Moheet Drain in Minya Governorate.

At the helm of these efforts is Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of Environment, who is leading a series of site visits and technical meetings to ensure integrated environmental management across sectors and regions.

“We are treating Egypt’s environmental challenges as interconnected — from air quality in the Delta to water pollution in Upper Egypt,” Dr. Awad stated, emphasizing the need for early intervention, multi-agency coordination, and community engagement.

Curbing the Black Cloud

In the Delta, the government’s 2025 plan to tackle seasonal air pollution focuses on reducing open-air burning of rice straw — a major contributor to airborne toxins during harvest season. Dr. Awad launched the season’s first coordination meeting this week in Kafr El-Sheikh, one of the country’s top rice-producing regions.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture, and Local Development, along with local officials and the World Bank-supported Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, a $200 million initiative launched in 2021.

Key elements of the strategy include:

  • Scaling up recycling of rice straw into biofertilizers, animal feed, and biofuel.
  • Strengthening enforcement of environmental violations related to waste burning.
  • Expanding farmer education and technical support on sustainable waste practices.

Officials report that increased awareness has already helped cut burning rates and create new green jobs in rural communities, particularly for youth and small-scale entrepreneurs working with recycled materials.

Tackling Industrial and Residential Waste: El-Moheet Drain Under Scrutiny

In Upper Egypt, Dr. Awad is also overseeing a targeted intervention in Minya, where the El-Moheet Drain has suffered from industrial discharge, untreated sewage, and solid waste accumulation.

In a high-level meeting with Dr. Eid El-Raghy, her technical advisor on pollution reduction, Dr. Awad reviewed the findings of an interagency committee assigned to investigate and resolve the environmental risks in the area.

The Ministry of Environment has outlined a multi-pronged plan that includes:

  • A solid waste management strategy for ten identified hotspots along the drain and its tributaries.
  • Ongoing air quality monitoring and stack emissions testing for nearby factories, which were found to comply with national standards.
  • Coordination with the Industrial Development Authority and Ministry of Housing to inspect wastewater treatment plants and industrial effluents.
  • Public awareness campaigns, including 62 local workshops, to educate residents on the dangers of illegal dumping.

Specific attention was given to a sugar factory discharging into the drain, where sample analysis and legal compliance checks were conducted under Egypt’s Industrial Licensing Law (Law 15 of 2017).

Dr. Awad also directed the Minya governorate to increase frequency of waste removal, ensure operational compliance of wastewater treatment plants with Egyptian maintenance codes, and reinforce cooperation with the Ministries of Irrigation, Housing, and Health.

The government’s unified approach is part of a broader environmental governance reform, aiming to link pollution control with economic resilience and social inclusion.

Source

Egypt has been selected as one of only seven countries worldwide to benefit from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) program—a recognition of the nation’s tangible efforts and serious steps toward transitioning to a green economy. The  Egyptian Cabinet highlighted this achievement through a series of infographics on its social media platforms, showing the country’s strategic direction toward promoting sustainable development, expanding clean energy use, and implementing environmentally friendly projects.

Among the highlighted achievements is Egypt’s climbing six places in the prestigious Climate Change Performance Index by Germanwatch to reach 20th position in 2025, up from 26th in 2014. Additionally, Egypt improved by 4.5 points in Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index, scoring 43.7 points in 2024 compared to 39.2 points a decade earlier.

Further rankings illustrate Egypt’s strengthened position in the renewable energy and energy transition landscape. It advanced five ranks in the World Economic Forum’s Effective Energy Transition Index to 74th place in 2025 from 79th in 2015, and similarly moved up five places in Ernst and Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index, reaching 34th in June 2024 from 39th in March 2015.

Egypt’s renewable energy capacity has grown markedly, with landmark projects such as the Benban Solar Park boasting a capacity of 1,465 megawatts and the Gabal El Zeit wind farm providing 580 megawatts. These projects represent the backbone of the country’s green energy infrastructure and demonstrate its drive toward sustainable power generation.

In the green hydrogen sector, Egypt has made significant strides by signing 16 valid memoranda of understanding with international developers, aiming to develop green fuel projects. Of these, seven binding framework agreements have already been secured, signaling robust international collaboration in this emerging field.

The government also boosted investments in green projects dramatically. Green public investments now constitute 55% of total public investments in the fiscal year 2025/2026, a sharp rise from 15% in 2020/2021. Additionally, Egypt made historic financial strides by issuing its first international green bonds valued at $750 million with a five-year maturity, becoming the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to enter this market.

Source

Summary
Tourism vital to Egypt’s economy.

Egypt aims to boost visitors, develop facilities.

Conservationists warn development threatens Ras Hankorab Beach.

Red Sea reef has tolerated warmer climate.

RAS HANKORAB, April 15 (Reuters) – Ras Hankorab Beach, a pristine spot on southern Egypt’s Red Sea coast with crystal clear waters and flat white sands, is the jewel of Egypt’s Wadi el-Gemal National Park, home to one of the country’s last untouched marine ecosystems.

Today, the beach, a 90-minute drive from Marsa Alam international airport, and a four-hour drive from the huge, fast-growing resort of Hurghada, is closed off by a wooden fence, and campaigners are battling to halt its development with, according to the original plans, dozens of accommodation huts, a restaurant and a farm.

Conservationists warn a fragile ecosystem supporting turtles, the coral reef, sea grasses and myriad species of fish is under threat and locals fear losing a precious natural resource forever.

Fighting economic crisis, Egypt has been selling investment licenses in its national parks to developers in the hope of raising income. Projects vary in size and scope.

Tourism is one of the most important pillars of the Egyptian economy. A recent UN Tourism report estimated annual tourism revenue at $14.1 billion in 2024, more than double Suez Canal revenues.

With 17 million visitors in 2024, an annual increase of 17%, Egypt sees potential to boost numbers with more infrastructure, air connectivity and sustainable, coastal and desert-focused holidays. Turkey had 62 million tourists in 2024, Greece 35 million and Dubai 18.7 million.

Environmentalists and local communities warn that even light construction on the beach would destroy one of Egypt’s last untouched marine sanctuaries.

Asmaa Ali, executive director of Ecoris, an Egyptian sustainable development and conservation group, said the national park and beach is one of the world’s most important spots for biodiversity.

“It has one of the most precious coral reefs, located at the reserve’s beach. It also has sea turtles at risk of extinction, it has mangrove trees,” she said.

Sherif Baha el-Din, a co-founder of Wadi el-Gemal national park, said tourists seek unspoiled nature, not concrete resorts.

The more development on the Red Sea coast, the more important it becomes to leave this small part untouched,” he said. “If we must develop, let’s talk about where. But the best thing to build here is nothing at all.”
The Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), an NGO, notes that the reef is so significant because it is one of the world’s most tolerant of climate change, and has the potential to repopulate other reefs and even bring back some from extinction.
REVENUE FROM NATIONAL PARKS
Over the past decade, changes to the law have allowed spots within Egypt’s national parks to be used for commercial projects. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said projects within protected areas including national parks surged from 10 in 2016 to 150 in 2024, with revenue increasing by 1,900%.
Egypt’s Environmental Affairs Agency initially offered the operation of Ras Hankorab for tourism use to investors, albeit under strict conditions.
However, responsibility has now moved to a government fund, the minister said in a recent presentation on Wadi el-Gemal. She declined to comment further.
Worried conservationist groups have filed an appeal with a state prosecutor, alleging development is not meeting protection laws and would damage a public resource.
Locals say they have been sidelined. Many once made a living from low-key eco-tourism but are now effectively barred from the beach.
“I used to take my kids there for free. Now, I have to pay 250 Egyptian pounds ($5) just to enter,” said Mohamed Saleh, a tribal elder. “They didn’t consult us. They didn’t hire us. They just took over our land.”
Fouad and other Egyptian officials argue that eco-tourism and investment can coexist. She defended development of the beach and Wadi el-Gemal as a “controlled expansion,” ensuring sustainability while attracting revenue.
Her ministry will monitor and evaluate the proposed projects in sensitive areas, including Ras Hankorab, Ras Boghdady, and the world-renowned diving spot the Blue Hole, she said. However, critics see the ministry as lacking the resources for that.
Egypt has lost environmental expertise due to low wages and limited resources, conservationists say. In 2007, Wadi el-Gemal had 20 wildlife specialists monitoring biodiversity. Today, there are only a handful, said an NGO member.
The Environment Ministry and the State Information Service did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“This [development] completely undermines the idea of eco-tourism. How does handing over protected land to private investors align with conservation?” said environmental lawyer Ahmed El-Seidi.
“The state is obliged to protect its natural resources and to protect the rights of future generations in these resources.”
($1 = 51 Egyptian pounds)
Reporting by Mohamed Ezz Editing by Alexandra Hudson

Source

Ras Hankorab Beach, a pristine natural sanctuary in Egypt’s Wadi el-Gemal National Park, faces potential development. Conservationists fear this will harm its unique ecosystem, which includes coral reefs and endangered sea turtles. Economic pressures have led Egypt to offer investment licenses in national parks, raising environmental concerns.

Ras Hankorab Beach, famed for its untouched beauty and clear Red Sea waters, is now at the heart of a debate on conservation versus development. Originally a haven in Wadi el-Gemal National Park, the site is said to be under threat due to plans for tourist accommodations, a restaurant, and a farm.

As Egypt tackles economic challenges, selling investment licenses for national parks has become a strategy to increase revenue. This move, however, alarms environmentalists who argue that development could destroy Ras Hankorab Beach’s fragile ecosystem, home to coral reefs, turtles, and diverse fish species that have remained undisturbed.

Local and international conservation voices, including those from Ecoris and the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association, warn against the plans. Despite attempts to balance investment with ecological preservation, critics argue Egypt’s approach could undermine the essence of eco-tourism and overlook the rights of future generations.

(With inputs from agencies.)

To the Presidency of the Republic, relevant government authorities, regulatory bodies, civil society organizations, and the media,

Ecoris for Sustainable Development expresses deep concern over reports of ongoing excavation and construction activities in the Ras Hankorab area within Wadi El-Gemal Protected Area, one of Egypt’s most significant natural reserves known for its rich biodiversity. These activities pose a serious threat to the nesting sites of endangered sea turtles, cause severe damage to unique coral reefs, and undermine Egypt’s global environmental and ecotourism reputation.

⚠️ Environmental Risks and Serious Consequences:
✅ Destruction of sea turtle nesting sites, accelerating their extinction.
✅ Severe damage to unique coral reefs, which are among the most resilient marine ecosystems worldwide.
✅ Violation of Egypt’s international commitments to nature conservation, damaging the country’s environmental reputation.
✅ Decline in ecotourism, a vital source of income for Red Sea communities and a key contributor to the national economy.

📢 Our Urgent Demands to the Presidency and Government Authorities:
🔹 Immediate presidential directives to halt all construction activities in the Ras Hankorab area until their legality and environmental impact are assessed.
🔹 An urgent and transparent investigation into the ongoing activities, with findings disclosed to the public.
🔹 Strengthened environmental oversight to prevent future encroachments on protected areas.
🔹 Involvement of civil society and environmental experts in decision-making processes concerning the development or use of natural reserves.

🌍 Saving Wadi El-Gemal is a national responsibility. Protecting it is not a luxury but a duty and commitment to Egypt’s environmental and economic future.

📢 We urge the Presidency and relevant authorities to take immediate action before it is too late!

Ecoris for Sustainable Development

A whole year of environmental destruction in the region renders any environmental talks or campaigns mere nonsense. The significant and ongoing environmental damages of what the occupying entity has been doing in Gaza for the past 12 months, and what it is currently doing in Lebanon, could reach the entire planet and the region in particular, akin to what fossil fuels and plastic could do for years. These result in catastrophic effects on the region as a whole, as well as on the ecosystems of the Mediterranean, and vital infrastructure, directly threatening the health and lives of the people of Gaza and Lebanon.

The Israeli army observes the “scorched earth policy” to destroy what it cannot occupy, including land, crops, natural resources, and infrastructure, notwithstanding the environmental impact that extends to the areas it controls, and expands to encompass the entire region.

Land:

1- Military operations have led to soil contamination with heavy metals such as lead and mercury, along with toxic chemicals, causing soil infertility and chronic diseases including cancer.

2- Military operations in Gaza have destroyed over 42% of agricultural and arable lands in Gaza, with the United Nations estimating losses from these damages at nearly 629 million USD until June 2024.

3- Military operations have destroyed nearly 90% of olive tree agricultural lands in various areas of the Gaza Strip, depriving the people of Gaza of olive harvesting for the second consecutive year. Olive trees take at least five years to bear fruit. The destruction of olive trees affects the environmental balance, increases desertification, and negatively impacts biodiversity, not to mention the economic aspect and the population’s reliance on the crop.

4- The Israeli crimes have turned Gaza’s land into dangerously polluted land, affecting health and destroying the food security of the area, thus its dependence on food aid post-war for long decades, indicating that the war of starvation continues even after the war of arms. Additionally, all what is happening to Gaza’s land has a direct impact on the environmental balance of the region, including lands under the Israeli control.

Water:

57% of water facilities, including desalination plants, wells, and water networks, have been destroyed, leading to a severe water shortage.

Over 162 wells have been destroyed, in addition to the 3 main water desalination plants in Gaza, resulting in a loss of 95% of the water production capacity in Gaza Strip and estimated losses of 503 million USD.

Groundwater contamination with heavy metals and chemicals resulting from military operations renders 97% of water in Gaza undrinkable for humans, animals, or irrigation. According to the World Health Organization, nitrate levels are 6 times higher than the permissible limit. Cases of waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea and hepatitis, have indeed increased due to water pollution.

Pollution from sewage water and chemicals leads to groundwater contamination.

The collapse of sewage treatment networks has led to the discharge of 60,000 cubic meters of untreated water daily into the Mediterranean Sea, causing pollution and destruction of marine habitats. Estimates indicate that 25% of the sea water near Gaza has become contaminated with harmful bacteria and heavy metals. Pollution can be carried through marine currents to neighboring countries in the Mediterranean Sea, such as Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece, threatening water quality and fish resources in these countries. Moreover, Israel heavily relies on sea water desalination plants that it pollutes, endangering everyone’s lives.

Air Pollution:

1- Continuous bombing, explosions, and airborne dust from the rubble have led to the release of thousands of tons of fine particles and chemicals into the air, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and toxic particles such as asbestos.

2- The number of fires due to the aggression from October 2023 to only January 2024 reached 165 fires, including 19 in industrial areas, resulting in air pollution with toxic chemicals.

3- This pollution poses a significant risk to the respiratory health of the population, especially with continued inhalation of fine particles. Hospitals have witnessed a 300% increase in respiratory diseases and asthma cases during the first three months of the aggression alone, affecting over 179,000 individuals, including children and the elderly.

4- The total rubble generated by military attacks has exceeded 39.2 million tons, equivalent to over 10 pyramids of Giza. This quantity also covers more than 365 square kilometers, the total area of Gaza, with a height exceeding one meter of rubble, which is 13 times more than the total rubble resulting from all previous wars since 2008. The rubble contains hazardous materials including over 800,000 tons of potential asbestos and unexploded ordnance (UXOs). Airborne dust poses a respiratory hazard, especially with the presence of toxic substances. These materials will continue to pose a health risk to the population for decades to come.

5- Approximately 1,100 to 1,200 tons of waste accumulate daily in the affected areas, including 400 tons daily in displacement sites alone. Over 1.5 tons of contaminated medical waste are left untreated every day in hospitals, increasing the risk of spreading infectious diseases and hazardous chemicals. With waste transportation issues unresolved, residents resort to burning waste outdoors, further complicating the issue of air pollution.

6- Air pollution spreads to neighboring countries with the wind, including territories under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Greece.

7- Toxic gases emissions and fine particles resulting from destruction may contribute to rising temperatures, and exacerbate the effects of climate change in the Mediterranean region, contributing to global climate change.

It is worth mentioning that the above information is the latest recorded data, not to mention the damages that are yet undocumented, or the updated damages caused by the failure of the international community to stop the year-long ongoing genocide.

The environmental impact of the war on Gaza requires a rapid and comprehensive intervention to protect the population and the environment in the short and long term. The international community has to take urgent measures to provide support and assistance in rebuilding the environmental infrastructure and enhancing the protection of natural resources.

In a related context in Lebanon, the Israeli use of internationally-prohibited white phosphorus bombs has been confirmed. According to the Arab Non-Governmental Organizations Network for Development (ANND), the use of phosphorus bombs in southern Lebanon over the past months has caused significant damage to food security, agricultural lands, forests, livestock, and biodiversity, in addition to economic, social, and human losses. White phosphorus bombs have sparked 683 fires, ranging in size, resulting in the destruction and damage of agricultural lands. Reports also indicate the burning of 47,000 olive trees, extensive damage to large numbers of pine and cedar trees, the deaths of around 340,000 birds and 970 livestock, and the destruction of 91 agricultural tents and 310 beehives. Additionally, the leakage of white phosphorus into rivers and groundwater layers extends the geographical and temporal lethal impact.

What has happened and continues to happen falls under “Ecocide,” a word composed of two parts: the first derived from the Greek word “oikos,” meaning house, and the second from the Latin word “cadere,” meaning to kill, thus the word means “killing the house”. The term thus means causing serious harm, destruction, or loss to the ecological system of a specific region by human action. This definition has been included in the proposal submitted to the United Nations’ legal committe with the aim of amending the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include ecocide as a fifth crime against peace. Environmental institutions and activists worldwide suggest including “ecocide” as a crime alongside the four international crimes stipulated in the ICC basic statute: crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and aggression. All of these crimes apply to the Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon and wherever may follow thereafter.

References:

1- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “Environmental Impact of the Conflict in Gaza: Preliminary Assessment of Environmental Impacts”, 18 June 2024.

2- Al-Najjar, Zahraa. “Israel exacerbates the climate change crisis and threatens the lives of citizens in Southern Lebanon”, Arab Non-Governmental Organizations Network for Development (ANND), 30 July 2024.

3- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), “Gaza War: Preliminary Findings on the Socio-Economic and Environmental Impact on Lebanon”, 18 December 2023.

https://www.hcsr-eg.org/en/the-environmental-impact-of-the-israeli-wars

A volcano on the remote island of Halmahera erupted massively and sent a cloud of ash into the sky, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from seven nearby villages, Indonesian authorities said on Sunday.

Ibo volcano erupted on Saturday evening, sending ash four kilometers high, with lines of purple lightning appearing around the crater, according to information and photos published by the Indonesian Volcanology Agency.

Abdul Mahari of the National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that a joint team of police, army and search and rescue officials had been sent to the area to evacuate residents from surrounding villages.

Pictures published by the authority showed assistance operations for the elderly, and residents were transported in small trucks to shelters during the night.

The authority did not provide any information about the number of people transported, but the authorities recommended evacuating an area with a radius of seven kilometers.

Indonesia’s volcanology agency raised the warning level for the volcano to the highest level on Thursday, after it erupted several times earlier this month.

Ibo’s activity comes in the wake of a series of different volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, which is located on the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean and has 127 active volcanoes.

Map Of Nature Reserves