This came in Fouad’s speech, delivered on behalf of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, at the 16th Conference of Parties to the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) under the theme "Peace with Nature,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Environment. 

Fouad travelled to Colombia on Monday to participate in the COP 16 conference, which was held on 21 October and will continue until 1 November. COP16 is the first conference to be held since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022.

The conference brings together scientists, government representatives, international organizations, civil society, and other key stakeholders to discuss global challenges hindering biodiversity conservation and sustainability.

Fouad highlighted Egypt’s commitment towards updated national biodiversity plans. These plans entail ecosystem restoration, sustainable agricultural practices, and expanding protected areas. 

Egypt’s efforts extend to local and regional levels, Fouad stressed, shedding light on projects integrating nine indigenous tribes into protected area activities to support local communities and preserve cultural heritage.  

She also mentioned Egypt's initiative to declare the Red Sea's Great Fringing Reef a protected area, reinforcing its commitment to marine conservation. 

“Egypt has integrated nature-based solutions (NBS) as a key component of its national biodiversity strategy, contributing to climate change mitigation and sustainable development,” she said. 

Fouad noted that these solutions in Egypt include projects in coastal areas, desert restoration, and urban green spaces, with NBS recognized as essential for simultaneously addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. 

On the international level, the minister also urged collective action to restore credibility to multilateral cooperation, especially considering the current destruction of natural resources in Palestine.  

Moreover, she called for robust financial support, highlighting that current funding levels are insufficient given the ambitious targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and to restore ecosystems by 2050. 

Egypt’s regional and global conservation efforts
 

On the regional level, Fouad noted Egypt’s current leadership of the Board of Trustees for the Programme for the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA), where it has been actively working to strengthen natural resource protection. 

These efforts include designating the Red Sea as a Special Area and establishing the Peace Centre in Hurghada to effectively address oil spills in the region. 

She added that, internationally, Egypt has led pioneering efforts to integrate biodiversity within the climate agenda, especially during COP27, which it hosted. 

These efforts included launching the Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation (ENACT) initiative, which focused on nature-based solutions in collaboration with Germany and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This initiative formed an expanding network with over 18 countries from various continents. 

Minister Fouad stressed Egypt's intention to integrate biodiversity into updated climate action plans, embedding it across industry, agriculture, health, and infrastructure. She noted the upcoming opportunity to submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) will be in February.