asked another famous British ornithologist, Richard Meinertzhagen, to 
complete her husband's work, and in 1930 the book Nicoll 's Birds of Egypt 
was published. Even today, this is one of the foremost works on Egyptian 
birds. 
Modem times 
Between the 1930s and the 1970s, some Egyptians started to become 
involved in ornithology. Ahmed Al Hussaini and Abdallah El Negumi 
were two Egyptian scientists who travelled the country and published 
books in Arabic about the bird life of Egypt. 
In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a sudden increase in interest 
in Egyptian ornithology, which resulted in a flurry of research. Much of 
this came from abroad: the Danes studied waterbird nugration along the 
Mediterranean Coast of northern Sinai; the Holy Land Conservation 
Fund undertook studies of raptor migration at Suez and surveyed 
wintering waterbirds; Germany's Max Planck Institute studied bird 
migration in the western desert; British Petroleum Egypt conducted 
surveys of seabird colonies breeding in the Red Sea. 
Two Dutch birdwatchers, Peter Meininger and Wim Mullie, came to 
Eg)^t in the late 1970s and established the Foundation for Ornithological 
Research in Egypt. For over 10 years, they conducted ornithological 
surveys. Their research led to their meeting the Americans Steve Goodman 
and Joseph Hobbs, as well as my husband, Sherif Baha El Din. In 1989, 
they co-authored the comprehensive book. The Birds of Egypt. 
Conservation in the 20th century 
The first modem conservation laws were passed in the 1920s, probably 
as a result of pressure from the British authorities. 
There had been a noticeable decline in common agricultural species such 
as the Hoopoe Upupa epops and Cattle Egret Buhulcus ibis, probably due 
to hunting pressure. Laws were passed to protect species beneficial to 
agriculture, and a campaign was launched to develop public awareness. 
This was very successful, and still can be felt today: every Egyptian child 
learns in school that the Cattle Egret is a farmer's friend. 
In 1979, the US Fish and Wildlife Service helped to establish the Egyptian 
Wildlife Service at Giza Zoo. Through this body, a number of laws were 
passed to protect beneficial and endangered species. In 1980, Law 102 
was passed, which led to the creation of a system of Protected Areas. In 
1983, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency took over management 
of the Protected Areas and became responsible for the country's 
environment. In 1982, the Ornithological Society of Egypt was formed by 
three Egyptians. It promoted ornithological research and bird and habitat 
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