The impact of the implemented policies have portrayed various social, environmental, and economic benefits.
Waste Management Regulation Law
The development of this policy led to international and national praise, including Committee Chair Ahmed El-Signini, who congratulated Fouad on her leadership in tackling Egypt’s longstanding waste challenges. This policy allowed for improvement of the country’s solid waste management system under her leadership and it became a cornerstone for introducing circular economy practices and expanding private sector involvement.
Before 2020, the country generated an estimated 100 million tonnes of waste annually, including approximately 20-26 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW). However, since the approval of the WML, the Waste Management Regulatory Agency has provided licenses for professional waste management activities and encouraged businesses to utilise compostable materials and alternative fuels.
Forty-eight mechanical biological treatment lines have been developed, which treat 8.5 million tonnes of waste annually and produce 4.3 million tonnes of compost and 1.7 million tonnes of refuse-derived fuel. Six uncontrolled dumpsites have been closed and replaced with 21 operational sanitary landfills. In addition, the government has introduced policies that support feed-in tariffs, required partial substitution of fossil fuels with refuse-derived fuels, and set a carbon tax of 1%.
The WML also prohibits the following activities involving hazardous materials without a licence: handling of hazardous materials/waste, exporting and importing of hazardous materials, establishing facilities for the circulation of hazardous materials, and passage of ships carrying hazardous materials or wastes through the territorial sea or exclusive economic zones. Compliance with the policy has been ensured through the implementation of fines and legal penalties. These include prison sentences of up to five years and financial penalties ranging from Egyptian Pound (EGP) 1,000 to EGP 25 million. Open burning of waste is punishable by a punishment of one-year imprisonment and a fine ranging from EGP 50,000 to EGP 1 million.
Fouad has stated that, since the WML came into force, the country’s solid waste management system has witnessed significant progress, driven by close coordination between the government and the private sector. In the recycling sector, the number of contracts increased from two to 36, and Egypt’s recycling rates have risen from 10% in 2018 to 37% in 2024. Beyond recycling, there has also been an increase in collection efficiency, with a rise from 60% to 74%. In addition, Fouad highlighted the growing role of the private sector in waste-to-energy projects, including investment for innovative projects such as landfill gas-to-energy, with investments of USD 40 million in Al-Salam and Hammam landfills.
In addition to these innovative landfill gas projects, various projects have been developed across the wastewater treatment and waste recycling sectors. The Abu Rawash wastewater treatment plant has been enhanced with a focus on sludge reuse across agricultural and industrial sectors. On the other hand, in Assiut, a new waste recycling plant project was launched and is set to be completed in 2026. This new plant will include German-Dutch technology and be able to process 60 tonnes per hour.
Additionally, the Emirati low-carbon solutions provider Zero Carbon Ventures and Egyptian company Green Planet have launched a new project called Zero Carbon Green Planet (ZCGP) focused on waste-to-energy transformations. The project is set to be completed in 2027 and will be able to process 400 tonnes of organic waste per day into fertiliser, hydrogen, and graphene, but plans exist to eventually increase this capacity to 10,000 tonnes a day. Beyond their environmental benefits, these projects have had several economic benefits. Amongst these, the creation of 250 jobs at the ZCGP and employment growth in logistics, recycling, technology, and operations.
Additional WML impacts include the launch of Egypt’s first extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, which requires companies to manage collection, recycling, and safe disposal of products. The EPR will begin with a target on single-use plastic bags but will extend to packaging materials and metal products. This policy will help support government efforts in enhancing recycling and waste management at a national scale in order to better align with global environmental standards.
Finally, one of the most beneficial social approaches under the WML focuses on El Zabaleen. This is an informal network of waste collectors made up of 50,000 waste processors, 150,000 sorters, drivers, and collectors. They have worked for over 70 years and they are essential due to their ability to recycle 80% of the garbage they collect and gather 60% of Greater Cairo’s waste. Unfortunately, the existing markets fail to reward their labour which leaves a gap in paid recycling efforts. Under the WML and the EPR scheme, the Zabaleen will receive protection to El Zabaleen as it assigns them official recycler titles that appear on their ID papers. This will allow for direct payment from companies responsible for producing waste to the recyclers through the use of e-wallets, ultimately rewarding their work and promoting a cleaner environment.
Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation in the North Coast of Egypt
As of 2024, the progress of this policy included the implementation of coastal protection measures across five governorates: Port Said, Damietta, Dakahlia, Kafr El-Sheikh, and Beheira, with a length of 69 km. Additional implementation began in 2025 covering 6 km in two additional governorates. The work of this implementation has been conducted by a consortium of international and national consulting firms, but it has been severely limited due to work delays and requests for additional time beyond the project lifetime. Nonetheless, in the time given, the consortium portrayed progress across various activities.
Progress within the policy implementation included completion of the design for the National Observation System for the North Coast of Egypt, completion of the climate risk assessment for Sea Level Rise Impacts on North Coast of Egypt based on modelling exercises, and a capacity building program focused on improving skills regarding modelling, Geographic Information System (GIS) training, and risk assessment. Additional progress within this policy included the construction of two new infrastructures reported to withstand climate variability, two kilometres of vulnerable hotspots were protected, five environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) were completed, the completion of modelling of the North Coast of Egypt to better assess sea level rise, installation of two tide gauges in Damietta and Brulus, and 66% completion in the development and implementation of soft protection measures.
Beyond this, additional progress has been monitored through reports highlighting numbers of people impacted by its implementation. Firstly, 6 million people reportedly benefited from the adoption of climate resilient livelihoods, 4,500 were reportedly reached by climate related early warning systems and additional risk reduction, 4,500 residents reported to benefit from soft coastal protection measures, and 179 men and women trained on modelling skills in relation to ICZM.
It is important to note that despite the progress, the complete benefits have been constrained by the lack of ability of the international consultancy firm to complete commitments on time and as a result they were replaced by new team of international and national consultants to finalise plans by 2025. These new consultants will be expected to continue the work implementation and will be responsible for aiding the completion for the rest of the expected impacts.
Amongst these benefits, it is expected that further project implementation will benefit 750,000 inhabitants across the Nile Delta and 16.9 million people in urban and rural areas are expected to be indirectly benefited as well. Therefore, this project will have immense social effects, generating local jobs and strengthening institutional capacity to expand projects like these as this is the first strategic plan to target the entire coastline. Projected impacts will include addressing sea level rise, protecting citizens, agricultural villages, and low-lying areas from risk of inundation by sea water. Additional impacts will also include tracking changes in waves, sea level, wind, and preserving natural resources in coastal areas.
In the long term, through the project lifespan of seven years and the work of the newly selected international and national consultants, these projects are expected to decrease the vulnerability of coastal communities, protect villages, and develop a strengthened integrated coastal zone management system for the North Coast of Egypt.
Decision 25/COP 16, Decision 27/COP 16, Decision 28/COP 16
The impact of these decisions agreed on at UNCCD COP 16 (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) in 2024 remains limited because implementation is at an early stage. Firstly, in regards to Decision25/COP 16 regarding gender, the implementation progress that has been made includes the development of a gender-responsive sustainable land management assessment tool by World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies. This tool was later integrated into the global sustainable land management (SLM) database. Next, United Nations University (UNU) students developed three case studies. These laid the groundwork for gender dimensions examinations by identifying key gaps and priority areas, which helps inform future policy development and decision making.
Additional impacts included the development of workshops for women’s empowerment and with the WeCaN platform events on gender-responsive land management planning. Furthermore, the UNCCD and GIZ enabled the participation of female delegates in CRIC 23, which allowed them to engage effectively in UNCCD multilateral negotiations and decision making processes. Finally, further implementation of the Gender Action Plan (GAP) road map was led by Ms. Tarja Halonen, UNCCD land ambassador and former president of Finland, through the use of thematic sessions. These sessions focused on sex-disaggregated data and gender responsive indicators in addition to women-led solutions for drought resilience.
The decision is also expected to monitor and fully promote gender parity and data reporting at sessions of the COP, collect sex-disaggregated data on income, poverty levels, land ownership, and others to provide a basis of indicators explaining how men and women are affected by drought and land degradation. Next, it aims to focus on the implementation of the gender action plan and submission of reports regarding discrimination faced by women in the planning and implementation of programs relating to desertification and land degradation. To do this, it seeks to develop gender-specific indicators in order to assess the strategic framework of the UNCCD. Additionally, it aims to establish stronger initiatives to promote and integrate gender equality and women empowerment while addressing land tenure and desertification.
With regard to Decision27/COP 16, which addresses sand and dust storms (SDS) progress includes the development of the SDS toolbox, which consists of detection strategies, inventory for tools, technologies, and good practices for SDS source management. This was further reinforced by the development of the GISDS to better manage anthropogenic SDS sources and serve as a basis for interventions on the ground.
The GISDS is unique in that it focuses on four pillars including land-focused monitoring and assessment, source area stabilisation and restoration, science-policy integration for source mitigation, and coordinated response and capacity building. This initiative aims to stabilise dust source areas with measures such as enhanced soil health and restored vegetation in order to prevent annual losses from sectors such as health, energy, and transportation. Additionally, it strives to reduce health concerns regarding dust exposure, and aims to improve the connection between modelling technologies and source mitigation.
Beyond the progress made and implementation progress, this decision proves to have various expected impacts. Amongst these, the implementation of SDS management responses that address natural sources and anthropogenic sources while enhancing international cooperation to combat the negative impacts of SDS, aiming to advance integrated land use. It also focuses on the integration of various SDS tools into key policy areas. These tools include the SDS compendium, the SDS toolbox, the global sand and dust storm source basemap, and visualisation tool. Finally, this decision aims to complete the implementation of national and regional policies with action plans for SDS, early warning, risk and vulnerability assessments.
Finally, in regards to Decision 28/COP 16 on land tenure, the implementation progress that has been made includes the development of the land tenure toolbox with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This toolbox aims to provide access to official documents, practical tools, and guides for sustainable land management (SLM) and land restoration activities. Additionally, this toolbox covers principles and guidelines, knowledge and awareness, women’s land rights, grievance mechanisms, finance and monitoring, and partner resources.
In addition to this, since the creation of this decision, the UNCCD continues to explore opportunities for land tenure consultations, now expanding support to Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, South Sudan, and Sri Lanka. In addition, the UNCCD and FAO organised a side event at CRIC 23 to inform development on the toolbox and related awareness-raising actions. Finally, with various partners, the UNCCD and FAO participated in events having to do with sustainable agriculture and responsible governance.
Beyond this, this decision proves to have various expected impacts. Amongst these, the integration of land tenure security into plans and activity to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought followed by the promotion of inclusive and participatory national-level dialogues while including land tenure plans and activities into national legislation. Additional impacts include the identification of financing opportunities and sustainable investments to strengthen land governance and land tenure, integration of land tenure into development efforts to support land degradation neutrality, and overall raised awareness on responsible land governance and improvement in the livelihoods of people in vulnerable situations.
IE x RAIA Summer Research Programme:
This article is an excerpt from a report on Yasmine Fouad produced as part of a RAIA research programme on climate leaders. For a full picture of Fouad’s climate leadership, including the sources, read the full report. This project was fully financed by IE University’s School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs and School of Science and Technology.
Authors: Lucía Sobrado Louzao, Alicia Hidalgo Gonzalez & Daniela Bermudez Bolivar
Editor: Francia Morales
Project Lead: Dario Hasenstab
