عنوان

'Everything has its price' :

Number

TLets528504

Title Proper

'Everything has its price' :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Gilbert, Hilary Claire

Title Proper by Another Author

conservation, development and Bedu in St Katherine Protectorate, South Sinai

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Jacoby, Tim ; Brockington, Daniel

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Manchester

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2011

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Thesis (Ph.D.)

Text preceding or following the note

2011

Text of Note

This study describes the development of South Sinai, Egypt, including the role played in it by conservation. South Sinai has great ecological, cultural and strategic significance. Its central highlands, sacred to three faiths, form the St Katherine Protectorate, and its indigenous population consists of Bedu from eight tribes or confederations. The 1967 Six Day War resulted in intense transformation and intervention, first by Israel and then by Egypt. Before 1967 core bedouin livelihoods were agropastoral, but sedentarization and economic change made them uneconomic, increasing bedouin dependence on paid work. Since 1982 Egyptian policy has focussed on populating Sinai with Nile Valley Egyptians and developing it through its tourist industry. Both processes exclude Bedu, who have become a marginalized minority. Conservation policy has contributed to this outcome. I argue that Egypt's conservation agenda in Sinai permits the claim that 'something is being done' to combat environmental degradation caused by settlement and tourism. However, underfunding of conservation ensures destructive development continues unopposed, while Bedu are strictly regulated. I examine Egyptian environmental and conservation policies and then their application to St Katherine in its European and Egyptian management phases. I investigate the 'Bedouin overgrazing' narratives that have informed conservation policy. These attribute vegetation loss to Bedu, ignoring alternative evidence, and providing a rationale for their 're-education'.Second I examine the impact of post-1967 interventions upon bedouin livelihoods, demonstrating a 95% decline in flock size from the 1960s to the present day, and the loss of viability of pastoralism. I illustrate growing polarization within bedouin society, and demonstrate lower access by Bedu to most goods and services compared to the general population. For half my sample (122 individuals in 82 households) income falls at or below

South Sinai ; Bedouin ; Conservation ; Development ; Marginalization

Gilbert, Hilary Claire

Jacoby, Tim ; Brockington, Daniel

University of Manchester

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y