conservation. It was quiet for some years, until I helped to reactivate it in 
1988, along with Dr Mustafa Fouda and Sherif Baha El Din. 
Research in the 1970s and 1980s revealed the international importance of 
Egypt for birds, as well as the increasing level of threats to birds and their 
habitats. Drainage, landclaim and development, the misuse of pesticides, 
oil pollution and uncontrolled hunting were all devastating bird 
populations. 
In the past two years, the Ornithological Society of Egypt has launched 
several successful conservation campaigns: the saving of a Cattle Egret 
colony at Giza Zoo; a two-year moratorium on foreign bird shooting 
tours; and the prohibition of bird hunting at the Italian War Memorial at 
El Alamein. These have been among the first occasions that the Egyptian 
government has responded to pressure from non-governmental 
organisations. 
In 1987, ICBP hired me to run a conservation education project, based at 
Giza Zoo. This culminated in the opening of a Conservation Education 
Centre in September 1990. This comprises an auditorium, classroom, 
library and office space, and is the first facility of its kind in the country. 
The centre has produced bird books and wallcharts in Arabic, and the 
education programme is running well. 
ICBP has also helped the formation of the Egyptian Wildlife Society, 
which now has 100 members. 
Present concerns 
These are two-fold. Firstly, pollution of Egypt's northern delta lakes has 
led to a decrease in wintering waterfowl, including an 80% fall in coot 
FuUca atra numbers. The lakes hold around 40,000 Little Gulls Larus 
minutus in winter. 
The other main concern is the dramatic increase in falcon trapping. 
Falcons, especially the larger species, are trapped for export to the Gulf 
states, where they fetch an extremely high price. The smaller falcons are 
sold on markets either as pets or as bait for the trapping of larger species. 
Conservation in Egypt has to be shown to have tangible human benefits: 
the delta lakes are important fisheries; and birds of prey are good for 
wildlife tourism. 
Future opportunities 
Birdwatching tourism brings in income to Egypt, but can also still make 
real contributions to Egyptian ornithology. There is still much to discover 
about bird distributions, migrations and numbers, even in well-known 
sites. 
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