ABSTRACT
The movement towards the promulgation of Egyptian environmental policies has its roots in the influence of the local scientific community from the 1970s. Of late, government and non-state actors have continuously shaped the forms of accepted ‘Environmentalism’ within the country. Despite increasing institutionalization, the natural landscape remains fragmented and environmental questions are constantly negotiated within public spheres dominated by the state and elites. In this chapter, Whaby looks at the interplay between civil society groups, urban elites and the marginalized poor in informal areas to examine the logics of governance and contention within the built environment. It looks closely at the perceived domination of a largely middle-class environmentalism, and, more importantly, localized grassroots forms of activism against the state. This chapter thus argues that these marginalized efforts have been undermined by a particular definition of Nature put forth by the new bourgeois classes and co-opted civil society movements. A historical review of how the state has shaped and managed the environment at large is first discussed; while several cases of grassroots contention will be looked at. In particular, water protests in urban Cairo present the case for self-help systems and “non-movement” mobilization of the marginalized.
