New agreements for bird sensitive energy development in Egypt!

The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Migratory Soaring Birds project’s national partner in Egypt, and the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) crystallising their collaboration for bird sensitive energy development in Egypt.

The purpose of this MoU is to provide a framework of cooperation destined to incorporate and promote the conservation of migratory soaring birds and biodiversity in general within the energy sector in Egypt. Both parties recognise that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energies is necessary as a mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure energy sufficiency and promote economic growth. However, the development of renewable energy should be undertaken in an ecologically sustainable manner, and subject to appropriate environmental planning and safeguards. Renewable energy can be bird sensitive through adoption of best practices being applied in the industry by planners, policy makers, donors, governments and renewable energy investors.

EEAA and BirdLife International’s coordinated Migratory Soaring Birds Project funded by UNDP/GEF has embarked on the task of developing tools and guidelines to ensure that the risk assessment and management process for renewable energy and associated infrastructure in Egypt appropriately takes into consideration and effectively addresses key conservation concerns with regards to migratory soaring birds. As part of this partnership, EEAA backed up by BirdLife International will provide NREA with the proper technical tools and materials developed through the Migratory Soaring Birds project along with capacity building activities empowering them to properly address bird conservation and renewable energy development.

This agreement will mark the first step of a long-lasting collaboration between EEAA and NREA that will see bird sensitive energy development in Egypt take off!

http://www.birdlife.org/community/2013/03/new-agreements-for-bird-sensitive-energy-development-in-egypt/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-agreements-for-bird-sensitive-energy-development-in-egypt