Case Studies UNDP: MEDICINAL PLANTS ASSOCIATION ST CATHERINE, Egypt

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: MEDICINAL PLANTS ASSOCIATION ST CATHERINE, Egypt

1/12

Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Egypt

ST. CATHERINE MEDICINALPLANTS ASSOCIATION

Empowered live

Resilient nation


2/12

UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Sean Cox, Larissa Currado, David Godrey, Sarah Gordon,

Oliver Hughes, Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma

Mary McGraw, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding

DesignSean Cox, Oliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen,

Lorena de la Parra, Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association, and in particular the guidance and inp

o Mr. Adel Abd Alla Soliman. All photo credits courtesy o St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbo

and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2013. St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association, Egypt. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. N

York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=685http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf


3/12

PROJECT SUMMARYSt. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association Associationprotects and cultivates native and endemic species omedicinal plants in the St. Catherine Reserve in Sinai, whiledeveloping alternative livelihood options or the areaseconomically marginalized Bedouin population. The reservecontains several unique and endangered medicinal plantspecies which have been threatened by overharvesting,collection or use as uel, and overgrazing.

The association promotes home gardens, providesalternative energy solutions, gives hands-on training on

sustainable harvesting techniques, and creates marketsupply chains or locally produced medicinal herbs,handicrats and honey. Alternative livelihood programmes,ocusing on women in particular, support armers throughthe process o planting through to the marketing oproducts. Revenues rom association activities have beeninvested in a rotating und which allows communitymembers to access small loans.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2012

FOUNDED: 2008

LOCATION: St. Catherines Reserve, Sinai

BENEFICIARIES: Over 500 Bedouin families

BIODIVERSITY: Endangered native & endemic plant speci

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 8

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 10

Partners 11

ST. CATHERINE MEDICINALPLANTS ASSOCIATIONEgypt


4/12

4

he Sinai Peninsula, home to St. Catherine Medicinal Plants

Association, is the only part o Egypts territory located in Asia rather

han Arica, and eectively serves as a land bridge between the two

ontinents. St. Catherines Reserve is located on the southern tip o

he peninsula, encompassing almost the entire high mountainous

rea o South Sinai. The reserve spans an area o 4,250 sq. km. and is

ome to a population o about 6,000, primarily poor, Bedouin people.

he Bedouin population o the reserve is composed o seven distinct

edouin tribes, located in and around the town o St. Catherine.

The high mountains of Sinai

t. Catherines Reserve, an ecological and cultural heritage site, is

he Sinai Peninsulas most biologically diverse region. The plantiodiversity o the Sinai has been enriched by its geographic location

nd the eects o long-term changes in climate. Plants ound here

ave their origins in several distinct oral regions. Some are relic

pecies, which have perished in their original Asian habitats, but

urvive in Sinai.

Hundreds o plant species have been recorded in the region,

ncluding 33 that have been identied as endemic solely to the

inais high mountainous region. Notable species include the

istachio shrub, the Sinai primrose, and Rosa Arabica, o which ewer

han 100 plants remain in the high mountains. A specimen o the

egions Rubus sanctus, or holy bramble, is revered at St. Catherines

Monastery as the biblical burning bush o Exodus. Almost hal o theecorded plant species in the area have some medicinal, aromatic,

osmetic or culinary use, and the local community uses local plants

o treat a range o medical disorders.

he regions plant biodiversity is under growing pressure due to

opulation growth and the number o tourists visiting the area. As

he human population o the region has increased, plants have been

ver-harvested or medicinal and domestic purposes, as well as or

se as uel. Overgrazing by livestock and eral donkeys also pose

ignicant threats to the regions plant lie.

The region is a popular tourist destination, located in a hot

or biblical tourism and as home to St. Catherines Monastery

Monastery o St Catherine stands at the oot o what is believed t

the biblical Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, M

received the Tablets o the Law. The mountain is known and rev

by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three w

religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The Monastery, oun

in the 6th century, is the oldest Christian monastery still in us

walls and buildings are o great signicance to studies o Byza

architecture and the Monastery houses outstanding collectio

early Christian manuscripts and icons.

Community-based medicinal plants managementThe origins o community-based work in St. Catherines Reserv

within a wider regional context o action or the environment

Medicinal Plants Conservation Project (MPCP), initiated in 200

the Egyptian Environmental Aairs Agency and unded by the U

Nations Development Programme and the Global Environm

Facility (GEF), aims to raise the living standard o the Bedouin pe

by creating local employment within St. Catherines Reserve b

on the sustainable management and use o medicinal plants. In 2

this larger, chapeau conservation project supported the launch

initiative or social and economic development that would en

the community in natural resource management within the res

St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association was created with theo supporting the development o sustainable livelihoods activ

or the largest o the areas Bedouin communities. With tech

and nancial inputs rom UNDP-GEF and MPCP sta, commu

members are supported to acquire expertise in planting, harves

processing, and marketing o a range o natural products. W

the prime ocus o the project has been on the reserves rel

abundance o medicinal plant species and by extension

conservation o much o St. Catherines unique biological dive

the association has also acilitated income-generating activ

such as the production o handicrats and bee-keeping. Muc

Background and Context


5/12

55

his work has ocussed on women community members. One o the

main successes o the project has been in successully promoting

nd marketing community produce, establishing improved market

upply chains and bringing in higher incomes or members. Beyond

ts initial ocus, moreover, the association has evolved to meet a wide

ange o community needs, including providing sustainable energy

nd micro-credit options.

n designing St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association, a scenariolanning exercise was conducted by project sta, bringing together

mostly local stakeholders or a 13-day workshop to acilitate open

iscussion and develop a ramework or how a potential community

ssociation would operate. A value-chain development workshop

was held in parallel, to discuss barriers and solutions to optimizing

he market supply chain o the reserves medicinal plants. The vision

hat emerged was one o ull participation o all actors in the St.

Catherine community at every stage o the production chain.

n both the planning and implementation stages o the initiative,

he ocus was placed on community ownership and leadership.

All components o the initiative are owned by the community

represented through membership o the association) and

ommunity members are involved in all aspects o the initiatives

ctivities. Approximately 50 per cent o the Bedouin community

enets rom the activities o the association through generation

employment opportunities and development o sustainable

ncome. All told, it is estimated that the medicinal plants value

hain established by St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association is

upporting the livelihoods o over 500 amilies.

Governance of the association

All eleven board members, as well as the entirety o associa

sta, are members o the St. Catherine community. The board m

regularly to take decisions regarding the associations activitie

technical and administrative ideas are discussed by inviting

representatives to participate in the meetings. Decisions aim

take into account the likely social, economic and environme

implications or the community. The association has done a gdeal to advance the status o women by building their capa

providing employment opportunities and involving women in

decision-making process as board members. Indeed, exec

management o association activities is carried out by Bed

women, setting a strong precedent in a community where wo

have not traditionally been involved in public decision-making.

Although conceived through a project under the aegis o

Environmental Aairs Agency, St. Catherine Medicinal P

Association is registered as a non-governmental organiza

The association is to a great extent nancially sel-sustai

with revenues coming rom annual subscription ees paid

members, prots accrued rom a revolving loan programme,

the commercial sale o medicinal plants, honey, handicrats

candles. All revenue accrues directly to community mem

helping to reduce management expenses and increase ret

For its contribution to community development and conserva

the Governor o South Sinai has granted St. Catherine Medi

Plants Association a building that serves as the hub o its activ

and provides space or association members to meet and sell

products.


6/12

6

Key Activities and Innovations

Conserving medicinal plants in the wild

t. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association has undertaken a range

o activities to conserve the ora o the region, both through direct

onservation methods, and by developing alternative livelihood

opportunities to reduce pressure on wild plants rom the activities o

he local population. The associations activities ollow the principles

o community-based natural resource management, providing the

ommunity with the necessary skills and training to sustainably

manage their own resource base and develop meaningul alternative

velihoods, rather than conserving local biodiversity at the expense

o community access to their resources.

o reduce the environmental impact o medicinal plant collection or

ocal use, community members are trained in methods or sustainably

ollecting wild plants, resulting in an observed improvement

n the health and vitality o the local ecosystem. Twelve organic

ultivation sites have been established to develop techniques or

he domestication o wild medicinal plants. These cultivation sites

lso unction as demonstration sites. A seed collection programme

as been established to conserve the regions unique range o plant

pecies. To preserve the distinctive character o the regions plant lie

n situ, a project has been implemented to control invasive species

hat threaten endemic medicinal plants. Under this project, measures

ave also been taken to control the regions eral donkeys that graze

on threatened plants and to address overgrazing by livestock. To thisnd, odder lots have been provided or cattle.

Developing alternative livelihood options

Above and beyond wild medicinal plant cultivation, St. Catherine

Medicinal Plants Association is working to generate new sources o

ncome and create new livelihood options or the local population.

he aim is to diversiy the local income base to reduce pressure on

wild ora and to avoid the dangers o overreliance on a single sector or

ctivity. One way this has been accomplished is through the creation

o household gardens and community arms, where medi

plants can be grown in a controlled, domesticated environment

association has helped to establish 25 community arms: 17 oper

by men and eight by women. The gardens and arms enable

people to plant and market organic ood and to produce medi

plants domestically rather than harvesting them rom the wild

initiative has been particularly empowering or women, who

generally taken responsibility or these activities in their househ

The gardens and arms are generating approximately EGP 500

82) per month or each household involved.

Alternative livelihood options are also being created through

development o a value chain or local plant resources. Traiand investment has been provided to begin manuacturing

marketing cosmetic and artisanal products derived rom

plants. Examples include soaps, candles and drawings o local p

on wood, paper and cloth. Production o these and other handic

has involved the participation o 600 individuals, each rece

an average o EGP 150 (USD 25) per month or their work, and

created 108 year-round jobs within the community. Meanwhile

hundred beehives have also been distributed by the associa

benetting 15 households who between them produce a

1,000 kg o high quality mountain honey each year, generating

200,000 (approximately USD 32,790) in revenue. Twenty-ve

cent o the revenue generated rom honey production is retu

to the association and reinvested in other activities or the benethe wider community.

Raising environmental awareness

The association works to raise local environmental aware

communicating the importance o biodiversity to the reg

economic, environmental and social wellbeing. Environm

awareness activities have helped improve community knowle

particularly or those working in the ecotourism sector. Gre

awareness has translated to higher levels o participatio


7/12

7

onservation activities. To engage the younger generation o

edouin, the association recently held a successul campaign

hrough the reserves Green School Programme, teaching 543

tudents at 20 local schools about the importance o the regions

lant biodiversity.

Sustainable energy, savings and loan services

he creation o home gardens and community arms has helpededuce dependence on wild plants or rewood; a dependence

hat, in combination with population growth and relative economic

espair and isolation, was previously putting unsustainable pressure

n local ecosystems. These interventions have been complemented

y the promotion o solar energy and the provision o gas ovens

o community members. It is hoped that these eorts will meet

ommunity energy needs while also protecting the environment.

With the support o the Environmental Aairs Agency, eight solar

ells have been placed in community public areas, including the

mosque, to promote awareness o renewable energy options. Eorts

o provide access to sustainable energy have been tied closely to

revolving loan programme, which has nanced the purchase o

many gas ovens and gas cylinders or household use. To date, m

than 500 Bedouin amilies have beneted rom the micro-c

programme, which has nanced 25 gas ovens, 275 gas cylin

and a signicant number o beehives, solar heaters and dom

plant gardens.

The revolving loan programme is central to the changes

association is attempting to catalyse in the region. It unction

many micro-credit programmes do, providing local householdsnances to invest in small businesses ventures, sustainable en

solutions, or income diversication projects. The main project cri

or accessing the revolving loan resources is any initiative that

reduce pressure on the regions medicinal plants, the environm

and ecosystem services.

Overall, the initiative has contributed to the development

sustainable value-added chain or the marketing o medi

plants in St. Catherines Reserve. From harvesting to value-ad

secondary processing to sales (in local, regional and global mark

the initiative has helped to transorm the local economy and

local landscape.


8/12

8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

t. Catherines Reserve is an ecologically unique area. It contains

lmost hal o Egypts endemic plant species, including a

ignicant number o medicinal and aromatic plants. The high

degree o endemism among Sinai plant species means that with

mismanagement or continued overexploitation local extinction

would also mean global extinction. Many local species are already

endangered. As one example, ewer than 100 RosaArabica plants

emain in the high mountains.

t. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association has done a great deal

o increase local awareness o the unique ecology in the region, aswell as appreciation or how the burden o stewardship that alls

o the community can also create economic opportunity and new

benet streams. The association has been judicious and balanced

n its emphasis on the social, environmental, economic and cultural

value that can be ound in a healthy ecosystem and in a community

hat protects and rejuvenates its unique concentration o medicinal

plants. Job creation, new livelihoods and higher tourism revenues

provide the clearest incentive or local action, and demonstrating

his economic upside has been an important catalyst o conservation

ctivities. Pressure on wild plants has been mitigated through

raining in sustainable management and the provision o alternative

velihood options. There has been a noticeable improvement in the

ondition o wild plants as a result o the associations conservationmeasures.

Holistic land management and environmental awareness

Another biodiversity impact rom the initiative has been successully

ddressing the overgrazing o livestock, a tragedy o the commons

ituation that was leading to land degradation, the loss o

hreatened medicinal and aromatic plants, and resource conicts.

Dedicated areas or livestock rearing, and corresponding areas or

plant cultivation, have created more thoughtul and harmonious

land management practices that have also reduced pressure on

plants. As part o a new land use planning approach, the associa

has also established restoration sites: demarcated ecological z

where no resource extraction is allowed, giving threatened med

plant species a chance to recover and thrive. Lastly, the associa

has made eorts to control invasive alien species, which also p

threat to endemic plants.

Environmental awareness campaigns have eectively raised

consciousness o key threats to local ecosystems and the import

o biodiversity to the local economy, not least o which to the tou

sector: St. Catherines Reserve receives an estimated 300,000 vis

every year. Importantly, these campaigns have been linked topublicizing o tangible economic benets, including the creati

jobs in the areas o honey production, soap and candle produc

and arming. As a result, the community eels it has a stak

conserving the regions ora, and that ecosystem health is dir

linked to their own wellbeing.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The Medicinal Plants Association has ensured that the

community, with its traditional reliance on the regions na

resources, has remained central to its strategy to preserve the a

threatened medicinal plants. Rather than conserving end

plants at the expense o the local population by restricting acto the reserve, or instance, the provision o gainul and rel

employment options has been key to the programme model, a

an important element o its success to date. By developing inco

generation opportunities that depend on the long-term h

o local ecosystems and diversity o plant species, the Bed

community has been given a strong stake in the conservation

sustainable management o their local plant resources. Bey

creating incentives, the association has prioritized comm

investment in the project and ownership over decision-making

governance.


9/12

ncome generation and employment opportunities have beneted

more than hal o the local community. In total, the initiative has

created 108 new permanent jobs. The establishment o medicinal

plant arms and the development o honey production and

handicrats and plant-derived products industries have together

boosted household and individual incomes signicantly. The

community has collectively achieved a new level o economic

esilience. By diversiying incomes, the initiative has reduced

community vulnerability to economic and environmental shocks,ncluding the erratic rainall patterns in the region which undermine

raditional livelihoods such as grazing and collection o wild plants.

By contrast, the activities promoted by the association are less

weather-dependent and can be undertaken year-round.

Empowerment of women

The biggest socioeconomic impact o the associations work is its

contribution to the empowerment o Bedouin women and the

provision o employment opportunities where previously ew

existed. Local employment opportunities or women were sparse at

best, and since Bedouin tradition does not permit women to leave

he community to live alone in cities where they might seek workor pursue urther education, nancial independence and economic

opportunity were traditionally out o reach. The association has

changed this by basing its programmes and activities primarily

around the women o the community.

Women represent the majority o wild plants collectors. In addition,

eight o the community arms in which medicinal plants and ood

crops are domesticated are operated by women. A programme

which oversees the development and marketing o produce

harvested rom these arms is also managed by women, who receive

a monthly income or their work and are helping to create a platorm

hat provides other local women with a new income stream.

Approximately 150 Bedouin women receive income rom the sale

o handicrats through associations sales outlets. Importantly, the

association provides opportunities or women to work rom their

homes and t their employment around their household schedules.

Local women have also received loans rom the community revolving

und to purchase gas ovens and cylinders. So too, women have been

actively involved in the governance o the association. Women sit on

he Board o Directors, and are taking part in community decision-

making processes alongside men or the rst time.

POLICY IMPACTS

At the national level, the associations work has played into

development o a regulatory ramework or Access and Be

Sharing (ABS), developed by the Egyptian Ministry o Foreign A

in conjunction with other ministries involved in trade and intelle

property rights. The ramework aims to promote the conserva

and sustainable use o wild medicinal plants and their habita

well as preserve the traditional knowledge associated with thei

The strategy adopts the mission o preserving Egypts weal

medicinal plants and related traditional knowledge through rat

management and sustainable use with the participation o

stakeholders. It also aims to oster in communities that have b

the traditional stewards o these resources an understanding o

benets that can accrue to them rom the sustainable managem

and conservation o their local resource base. The ramework m

possible the setting o regulations and benet-sharing arrangem

with institutions that might commercially exploit medicinal pl

The experience o St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association

been presented to the Cabinet o Ministers in Egypt as a mode

how the conservation o protected areas generate employmenincome or local communities that live in these reserves.

9

Local communities are the protectors of the environment and the basis of developmen

Community-based organizations are like children who first need help to stand up, but then, onc

given a little bit of support, can walk the rest of the way. Policy makers should and must wor

with them and for them.

Mr. Adel Abd Alla Soliman, Manager, Medicinal Plants Conservation Project


10/12

10

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYt. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association was set up with the support

the Environmental Aairs Agencys Medicinal Plants Conservation

roject, but today possesses the technical, administrative and

nancial capacities to unction independently. Support rom UNDP-

GEF is in the process o being phased out and the initiative now relies

n its own income-generating activities to und its endeavours.

A long-term sustainability operations plan has been established

ncompassing all programmes and activities. The plan lays out a

metable or proposed activities, the unding required or each,

methods o procuring the resources necessary to carry these out, androposed management arrangements. Funding or the associations

ctivities comes rom the proceeds o the sale o artisanal products,

mountain honey and plants, as well as rom prots accrued rom the

evolving loan scheme. The provision o a headquarters building or

he association by the South Sinai Governorate, meanwhile, has also

ontributed to nancial sustainability by reducing the associations

verhead expenses.

he association has received international accreditation in the

orm o an Environmental Compliance Certicate or the collection

plants, organic arming and trading o medicinal plants rom

he Mediterranean Institute o Certication in Italy. A set o ofcial

ooperation protocols with governmental agencies such as theMinistry o the Environment and the Centre or Desert Research also

trengthens the associations credibility.

REPLICATION

lans are underway or the expansion o the project, including the

cquisition o more land on which to cultivate medicinal plants,

nd tapping new and emerging markets or the sale o locally made

roducts. A website has been created to showcase the associations

work, which has increased demand or its products and in turn

encouraged the community to increase its scope and amb

Beyond local expansion, the initiative has the potential to serve

model or sound, community-based natural resource managem

across the region and beyond. The association currently works

the largest and most inuential o South Sinais seven Bed

tribes and as such it has the potential to be replicated through

establishment o similar initiatives with the six other tribes

inhabit the reserve.

Communities rom other parts o Egypt, including Al-Jimal V

at the Red Sea and Shalateen in southern Egypt, have alr

expressed interest in replicating the associations work and

begun to institute some activities inspired by the success o thCatherine initiative. The association organized a series o visi

representatives o these communities to explain the initiativ

objectives and the positive impacts it has had on the communit

St. Catherines Reserve. Partnership with the Ministry o Environ

played a large role in supporting the replication o the initi

to these areas through the provision o the technical sta

equipment necessary or the propagation o medicinal plants.

The association is an active participant in the UNDP-impleme

GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) Network in Egypt, ano

channel through which its work has been spread to other reg

Through a UNDP-GEF project on Conservation and Sustainable

o Medicinal Plants, the association has served as an exampother communities, with UNDP-GEF arranging or representa

o communities in other protected areas o similar conditions t

Catherine to visit the Medicinal Plants Association to learn abo

work in the hope o encouraging replication.

The association has generally taken a proactive approac

knowledge sharing, producing and making available throug

website policy papers that provide overviews o its processes. T

include papers on threat analysis, scenario planning, commu

based natural resource management, and in situ ecosy


11/12

1111

ehabilitation. These papers provide a means or the project to

ranser its knowledge and share examples o best practice or

eplication elsewhere.

PARTNERS

he UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme provided

eed unding or the project as well as capacity building or thessociations elected board members. The grant also went towards

raining community members in the cultivation o medicinal plants

nd improving the quality and marketing o their products.

he association operates under a cooperation protocol with

he Ministry o the Environment (MOE) and is implemented in

artnership with the ministry, as represented by the management

St. Catherines Reserve. The protocol denes the responsibilities

nd obligations o the MOE to provide the Medicinal Plants

Association with the instruments and tools needed to cultivate and

propagate medicinal plants as well as the operating expenses o

greenhouses. The MOE also provides the necessary technical sup

or the operation o these greenhouses by providing qua

engineers to ollow the plant propagation processes. The pro

denes the responsibilities and obligations o the association i

use o medicinal plants seedlings, to be grown within the area

Catherine, both in domestic arms or arms owned by the associa

It determines the types o medicinal plants allowed or marketi

well as other species which are not permitted to be commerciadue to their conservation status.

The South Sinai Governorate provides the association wit

headquarters building, while there is close cooperation betw

the association and the Desert Research Centre o Egypt. Rese

Centre sta members provide advanced technical trainin

members o the association on techniques or sustainable colle

o wild plants. Finally, the association also cooperates with the

Sea Protected Areas Development Association in implemen

their biodiversity awareness activities or children.

Wealth is in the hands of communities and lies in our natural resources. We must teach ou

children how to preserve the environment. Do not lose hope. With hard work and determination

we will achieve success for people and the environment.

Mr. Adel Abd Alla Soliman, Manager, Medicinal Plants Conservation Project


12/12

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

UNDP partners with people at all levels o society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the

o growth that improves the quality o lie or everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we oer global pers

ive and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2013 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association Equator Initiative prole page on equatorinitiative.org

Medicinal Plants Conservation Project website: mpcpegypt.org/English/Global/index.aspx

Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=103&Itemid=683http://www.mpcpegypt.org/English/Global/index.aspxhttp://www.mpcpegypt.org/English/Global/index.aspxhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=103&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/93/casestudy/case_1370356358.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348162360.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163412.pdf

Documents

Case Studies UNDP: MEDICINAL PLANTS ASSOCIATION ST CATHERINE, Egypt