Alexandria Lake Maryut Integrated Management

ALAMIM ProjectEC- SMAP III

• Existed for Over 6000 years old

• Located on the north Mediterranean coast

• Covers an area of 65 km2

• Divided into 5 basins

• One of the smallest and most polluted lakes in Egypt

ALAMIM Project Partners

CEDARECEDARE

MedcitiesAlexandria

Governorate

Egyptian

Environmental

Affairs Agency

Catalonia

Regional

Government

Marseilles

Municipality

Key Objectives• To assist in the preparation

of the integrated action plan for the development of Lake Maryut Zone

• The promotion and adoption of integrated coastal zone management approaches involving all stakeholders

• Establishing effective and sustainable institutional structures for the integrated management and monitoring of l\keMaryut zone.

Activities to achieve Project Objectives • Preparation of an IMP for Lake Maryut

Zone

• Develop sustainable development scenarios

• Develop an Integrated Action Plan to be used as a road map based on all current and future governmental national and international development plans

• Develop integrated management and monitoring systems

• Establishing management and monitoring units in Alexandria Governorate & EEAA”

• Build institutional & human resources capacities for effective monitoring and management through extensive training

• Raise Public Awareness

Main ICZM Issues at Project Site• Poor water quality, & continuous

degradation

• Expansion of informal settlements

• Decreased lake area over time

• Significant decrease of fish production

• Poor livelihood & health conditions of fisherman community

• Continuous negative impacts (Agricultural, untreated industrial and domestic wastes)

• Absence of lake management & monitoring strategy

• Absence of opportunities in socio-economic and urban development in lake zone

Rationale & the need for ICZM• Promoting sustainable

development of Lake Maryut

Zone through an iczm

approach that focuses on

improving the environmental and

socio-economic conditions of the

lake area

• Creating a sustainable monitoring

and management system, in

harmony with national future

development plans.

• Development of an IAP

Applied Strategies 1. Building Institutional set-up for lake

management

2. Develop an Integrated Action Plan

3. Studying Best Practices

4. Utilizing mathematical modeling as a

tool for developing future scenarios to

assess its ecological impacts

5. Development of tailored Lake

Monitoring System

6. Establish two management &

monitoring units

7. Build human capacities (training)

8. Raise public awareness & encourage

stakeholder participation

ICZM Tools • Needs Assessment survey

• Stocktaking analysis

– Background information collection

– Stakeholder Analysis

– Institutional Analysis

• Environmental Assessment of State of the Lake

• GIS & Remote sensing

• Best Practices Analysis

• Model development

• Public Hearings

• Public Awareness Material & Documentary

• Website, Atlas & Map server

• Improving PPP in the implementation of IAP

• Integration of existing plans

• Assessment on cleaner production improvement

Main Achievements & Successes

• Stakeholder dialogue

• Scientific assessment of lake conditions including updated change detection

• Stakeholder Mind Map

• Institutional set up for lake’s sustainable management (setting management and monitoring units)

• First State of the Lake Report

• Updated state-of –the –art land use / land cover map

• Production of Lake Maryut Atlas

• First website & map server featuring ALAMIM’sresults & outputs

• Development of future scenarios using mathematical modeling

• Development of an IAP

Main Difficulties• No clear lake ownership and

boundaries

• Inconsistent & scattered data

• Conflicting Stakeholder interests

• Past conservation efforts focused on problem diagnosis, not solutions.

• Some stakeholders benefit from the deteriorating status of the lake

• Differentiated weight of stakeholders

• Existence of diverse lake management strategies

• Prevailing general feeling of helplessness and inaction towards the lake’s conservation

• Misunderstanding of the concept of Environment for Development

ICZM relationships at the national level

• Stakeholder participation in all project activities

• Capacity building of national institutions through extensive training

• Providing national authorities with state-of-the-art DSS tools

• Building institutional national capacities by developing management and monitoring units

• Complete synchronization with national plans and priorities

• Constant consultation with government officials & the local community

• Raising awareness of the importance of ICZM for lake Maryut

Lessons Learnt – Project level• Participation with all partners should

take place from the very beginning

• National ICZM plans and other plans for the area should be assessed and monitored regularly to ensure consistency with project outputs

• Training is an essential component to ensure sustainability

• Institutional capacity such as establishing ICZM management and Monitoring Units is important

• Importance of sharing experiences on both international, national and local levels

Lessons Learned – Regional level

• The message should be clear that project is aiming at assisting local government and communities to better manage their natural resource not to dictate what they should do

• Different modality of work and cultures of countries should be respected and considered

• Importance of territorial planning as a tool to define consensus of interests in ICZM in urban areas

• Effectiveness of regional good experiences exchange

If we act now & act togetherThe revival of Lake Maryut will be a dream come true

It is possible & we can do itWe have the knowledge, we have the will

We are waiting for you, hand in hand Lets build the future learning from the past

Invest, Build and create a better environmentWe will profit, and enjoy life in a clean healthy environment

Guarantee a better future for our generations

Thank You