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The Environment and Sustainable Developmentdiseases. For Egypt, lethal malaria could betransmitted from the Sudan to thegovernorates of Aswan and Qena as a resultof the migration of this mosquito-bornedisease which breaks out in hot weather.Similarly, agricultural pests from the Sudanwill migrate to southern Egypt, and possiblyto the Delta, if global warming continues toincrease.Ozone LayerThe ozone layer is vital for life on planetEarth (see Box 4.1), and a consensus hasemerged that its protection is a globalmission. The depletion of this layer isviewed as a major threat from the globalizationprocess, but its protection entails costs thatwill burden the developing economies.While the depletion of the ozone layer isalmost entirely the outcome of theindustrialization and development of advancedsocieties, developing countries have to pay alarge part of the cost and to rely on cleanerproduction technology, as part of their“responsibility” to the internationalcommunity. This puts financial burdens ondeveloping economies such as Egypt whichhave to abide by international conventions.Egypt is committed to the objective ofdecreasing ozone depletion, as manifestedin its signature of the various internationalagreements such as the Vienna Conventionand Montreal Protocol (1998).BiodiversityBiodiversity means variability among livingorganisms. It is important to maintainbecause it can directly and indirectlyinfluence the structure and functioning of anecosystem. In September 1989, the WorldResource Institute (WRI), WorldConservation Union (WCU) and the UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP)developed a program to prevent theAfter theliberalizationmeasures, increasedemploymentopportunities wereopened to the laborforce as an outcomeof agriculturalintensification.Box (4.1)Earth Layers and OzoneThe atmosphere of the Earth consists ofseveral layers. The lowest is 10 kilometersin altitude and is called the troposphere andthis is where virtually all human activitiesoccur. The next layer is called the stratosphereand it continues from 10 km to 50 km. Mostcommercial air traffic occurs in the lowerpart of the stratosphere and most atmosphericozone is concentrated about 15-30 km abovethe surface of the Earth. Normal oxygen,which we breathe, has two oxygen atomsand is colorless and odorless. Ozone is amolecule containing three oxygen atoms,blue in color and has a strong odor. Out ofevery 10 million air molecules, around 2million are normal oxygen, but only threemolecules are ozone. However, even thissmall amount of ozone plays a key role inthe atmosphere. The ozone layer absorbs aportion of the radiation from the sunpreventing it from reaching the planet’ssurface. It absorbs the portion of ultravioletlight called UVB, which has been linked toharmful effects including various types ofskin cancer, cataracts, and harm to somecrops, some materials and forms of marinelife, such as coral reefs. Recently, convincingscientific evidence has shown that the ozoneshield is being depleted well beyond changes dueto natural processes. Use of Chlorofluorocarbons(CFC) as refrigerant, solvents and foamblowing agents, other chlorine containingcompounds, halons (extremely effective fireextinguishing agents) and methyl bromide(effective produce and soil fumigant)contribute greatly to ozone depletion. All ofthese compounds have an atmosphericlifetime long enough to allow them to betransported by winds into the stratosphere.They release chlorine or bromine when theybreak down. One chlorine atom can destroyover 100,000 ozone molecules. The net effectis to destroy ozone faster than it is naturallycreated. Experiments have shown that thementioned chemicals produce roughly 85 percent of the chlorine in the stratosphere, whilenatural sources contribute only 15 per cent,indicating that the larger effect on ozonedepletion is caused by human activities.Egypt Human Development Report 2000/2001 - 65