Cairo deploys heavy state machinery to save a single tree

Six hours of “continuous work” and “the latest equipment provided by the state,” were deployed by Cairo Governorate to relocate a leaning Poinciana tree in Heliopolis, the Ministry of Local Development said in a statement Thursday.

The operation highlights a complete reversal by local authorities following widespread public anger and parliamentary demands calling for an end to a wave of tree removals across Egyptian governorates.

Local development minister Manal Awad and Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber, who attended the relocation in person, praised executive agencies and specialized technical teams for securing the adjacent building and moving the tree to a neighboring site for replanting. 

Awad emphasized that the response supports political leadership directives and prime ministerial instructions to expand afforestation, preserve existing trees, and upgrade open areas, medians, main axes and roads, and city and village entrances.

The government’s PR push follows months of aggressive tree-felling, including an early September drive where Giza Governorate pressed ahead with the campaign, felling trees along Gameat El-Dewal Street and in Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandiseen, citing plans to add traffic lanes to ease congestion following changes to the surrounding road network.

However, these removals met with widespread criticism, of the government’s approach to green spaces, which ranges from converting parks into investment projects to transforming tree-lined streets into concrete sidewalks.

Following this anger, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directed the government to adopt a project to “green Cairo” by converting any cleared area into green spaces, as part of “developing areas surrounding historical and heritage landmarks in the capital.”

Governors have since competed to demonstrate compliance through field visits where they order the preservation of green spaces, administrative penalties, and public pledges signaling good intentions toward trees.

Days ago, the local development and environment ministers fired the head of the Motobas city and district center in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate from his post for cutting down trees around the Edfina Barrages without permission, referring the incident for investigation.

The response was not limited to local authorities; the interior ministry also issued a statement two days ago after a video circulated showing tree-cutting in Beheira Governorate, confirming that the trees were on private property owned by a charcoal production company, and that no violation had occurred.

Additionally, the Public Prosecution ordered extensive investigations into a report submitted regarding tree-cutting incidents across several areas nationwide, instructing relevant oversight bodies to conduct necessary inquiries into the facts, reasons, and quantities of trees cut, as well as the measures taken in this regard.

According to a study examining land-use changes and green cover in Cairo, the percentage of green spaces declined from about 11.2% in 2001 to 8.5% in 2021, representing a reduction of roughly 24%, with Cairo alone losing nearly 32 square kilometers of green space.