Egypt eying world record with largest clean-up campaign

While gearing up for COP27, Egypt also seeks to enter the Guinness World Records with the longest clean-up campaign.
The campaign, to take place in 16 governorates, will start on September 17 to mark the World Clean-up Day, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.
The ministry holds meetings to discuss preparations for the campaign which is also part of Egypt’s preparations for the United Nations Climate Conference and the fifth edition of the Cairo Water Week.
The ministry said the campaign aims to protect the Nile River from pollution and plastic waste.

”It also aims to preserve aquatic biodiversity,” the ministry said.
The Ministry of Irrigation is scheduled to determine the exact locations along the Nile River where the campaign will be implemented. It will provide those participating in it with the required equipment.
The ministry also expressed  hopes that the largest possible number of youth and school pupils would participate in this event.
This comes within the framework of endeavours to raise environmental awareness of the dangers of water pollution among junior Egyptians.
”We also need to join hands with the civil society in all governorates, according to the ministry’s statement.

The Ministry of Irrigation added that the campaign would be a model for coordination and co-operation with the civil society and the private sector.
This model, it said, could be replicated in the future for the protection of water resources from various forms of pollution.
Apart from the Ministry of Irrigation, the Youth Love Egypt Foundation (YLE) and a host of international organisations will be part of  the campaign.
YLE founder, Ahmed Fathy, whose foundation will also co-organise the 17th Conference of Youth, described the campaign as an ‘important step’ in the run-up to COP27, in terms of cleaning the Nile and raising awareness.
”The campaign goes in tandem with Egypt’s broader adaptation strategy,” Fathy told the Egyptian Mail. “It will help drive collective action to promote adaptation in the water sector.”
He said the campaign would be the longest in terms of the number of kilometres it would cover.