On April 25, 2013, the Medicinal Plants Association in St. Katherine was honored in The Egypt National Award Ceremony. With the Minister of Environment in attendance, this organization was hailed for its work in job creation and income generation for local Bedouin populations, as well as for its success under the UNDP-GEF Project on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants.
To aid and continue its success during current times of low tourism rates, the Association recently earned a grant from the GEF Small Grants project to create new products and enhance current ones. UNDP also seeks to aid the Medicinal Plants Association’s good works by researching and pursuing new product opportunities in untouched markets, while increasing tourism initiatives. For the future, Anita Nirody, UNDP Egypt Resident Representative, emphasizes “the importance of scaling up and replicating this successful model to other Egyptian protected areas…[which is] supported by the Minister of Environment”.
