Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad, held a meeting with representatives of Sinoway Forest, a Chinese company operating in afforestation, and implementation and restoration of forests.
Fouad’s meeting with the leading Chinese company’s General Manager Tian Zhiqiang, Project Manager Pang Guocong and the company’s manager in Egypt Walid Abu Raya, discussed means of co-operation in the implementation of forest planting and afforestation projects. Some ministry officials also attended.
Minister Fouad was offered a presentation by the company official on the vision of expanding Sinoway’s operations in through carrying out pioneering projects in the field of afforestation and environmental restoration of wetlands and degraded areas, reducing carbon emissions.
The presentation also covered industrial afforestation and forest management, in addition to programmes for exchange of expertise in science, forestry and biodiversity, according to a ministry press release.
In addition, the minister was also briefed on the technology Sinoway offered in fields of forestry and afforestation. This includes the seed ball technology, which helps to grow forests while taking advantage of the moisture in the soil and air as a source of water, thus tackling repercussions of climate change, as well as facing desertification at the same time.
The meeting also featured reviewing models of afforestation and forestry projects the company has carried out in several pl;aces, including Abu Dhabi, in the Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Tunisia were presented.
For her part, the minister of environment emphasised that the afforestation technology that will be used in Egypt should be compatible with the challenge of water scarcity so as not to add a fresh burden that aggravates its severity. It should also include mechanisms to benefit from this project in the field of carbon certificates, especially with Egypt’s launch of the country’s first voluntary carbon market.
She also pointed out the importance of this type of technology in achieving the goals of restoring land and increasing green areas, as a mechanisms that helps face the challenge imposed by climate change, as well as combating desertification and restoring land.
Sinoway’s representatives, for their part, stressed that planting forests is one of the effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions.
This is the solution that prompted China resortedto, particularly amid the challenge of losing one million hectares of cultivated land annually, which aggravates the severity of climate challenge and desertification, they said.
Two recent conferencetackling climate and desertification have underlined the importance of relying on forestry and land restoration technology as one of the effective and sustainable solutions.
Sinoway is collaborating with local governments to rapidly restore natural ecosystems, improve rainfall patterns and promote environmental sustainability, promote carbon neutrality goals by partnering with industry stakeholders, and trade forest carbon certificates that contribute to carbon neutrality goals, they said.
