The main activities and achievements of the Unit of Unit Environmental Studies and Development  (UESD) are summarized below:

·        creating a multi-disciplinary international team interested and competent in   research related to the severe dry conditions of remote desert areas and in applying their expertise to broader environmental issues;

·        providing   research facilities for local students abroad and for overseas    students in Wadi Allaqi. In the 15 years of the Allaqi Project about 50 post-graduate students benefited from the facilities provided by UESD (annex 3).

·        training at  advanced levels for more than 25 students on subjects within the project;

·        establishing guiding principles for conservation and management resources, flora and fauna, and devising an inventory of possibilities for new and renewable energy;

·        providing valuable training for young scientists who will hopefully build a solid scientific base in this part of Egypt;

·        producing 38 working papers based on research work in Wadi Allaqi and publishing about 100 papers in international scientific journals and chapters in books and book;

·        setting up a specialized  research laboratory on the Faculty campus and a field station in Wadi Allaqi;

·        establishment of a demonstration farm in Wadi Allaqi for the promotion of cultivation of indigenous desert plants with high economic value, in particular medicinal plants and for the production of edible oil from Balanites aegyptiaca;

·        Creating links with many international institutions and organizations;

·        Preparing recommendations for declaring two conservation areas in Aswan Governorate.  As a result First Cataract Islands and  Wadi Allaqi was declared a conservation area by Prime Minister's Decree in 1986 and 1989 respectively  and  a Wadi Allaqi  Biosphere Reserve within the MAB project of UNESCO in October 1993.

·        Preparing for the Governor of Aswan following documents:

Ø      Environmental reports

Ø      Environmental Profile and Environmental Action Plan for Aswan Governorate in 1993.

·        Creating the UNESCO-Cousteau Ecotechnie Chair  in 1997 and is implementing the Chair activities since that time.

·        Establishing the Arab Regional Ecotechnie Network and acting as Regional  Co-ordination Unit.

·        Preparing the syllabi for Environmental Science Department (Faculty of Science) and syllabi for general course of environment for all students in University. 

For more information, please see the following websites:

http:/www.unesco.org/education/unitwin/reports_en/egypt82.pdf

http:/www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp? Code=EGY+02&mode=all

http://archive.idrc.ca/library/document/108310

http://web.ges.gla.ac.uk/aswanlink/allaqi1.htm

- MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE