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The locals of the Egypt`s desert are called Bedouins. The
livelihood of this people is assured by the desert resources;
the collection of medical plants, the pastoralism`s subsistence
tactics, the desert charcoal production represent the main base
for the desert locals livelihood. The inhabitants of the Egypt`s
desert are very aware of their habitat and know how to use their
resources in a productive way. They grow wood that is used as
fuel, such as Tamarix nilotica, Salvadora persica, Acacia
raddiana and Acacia ehrenbergiana, the last two being more
valuable, economically speaking, than the first two. They are
also very efficient as desert charcoal; only in Wadi Allaqi
(situated in the Egypt's Eastern Desert) the desert charcoal
production in 1997 was about eighteen tons estimated at almost
LE 32,400. Bio-diversity plays a main role in the desert's
inhabitants life. That's why there must a plan of management
regarding the way in which the desert's natural resources are
influenced by the tourists or visitors. Some of these tourists
don't follows the rule of utilizing just the trees` dead
branches as fuel. A control of the desert traffic is required,
specific path must be fixed and also respected, with the purpose
of not affecting the soil's seed banks. The cultivation of
indigenous plants that can be used as fuel as well as the
cultivation of these plants for the medical use must be
encouraged. The supplying of the local fodder must be improved,
too. The variability of the geological and geographical factors
in desert must be evaluated before making the plans above
mentioned. And, of course, all kinds of programs must be created
in cooperation with the desert's local people, because they know
what is best for the Egypt` desert to continue to be the wonder
that everybody wants to see. |
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