AHMED BELAL has a BSc in physics from Cairo University and a PhD from Leningrad State University. He established the Unit of Environmental Studies and Development in South Valley University, Aswan, Egypt in 1993. JOHN BRIGGS is professor of geography at the University of Glasgow. He has researched and taught in Africa for over thirty years, and has worked extensively in Egypt, Sudan, and Tanzania. His interests are in the field of environment and development issues. JOANNE SHARPE is senior lecturer in geography at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests are in the role of gender relations in development. She has worked extensively in southern Egypt, as well as in Tanzania and South Africa. IRINA SPRINGUEL has a B.Sc in biology from Leningrad State University and a PhD in plant ecology from Asyut University. Since 1981 she has been advancing higher education and multidisciplinary research in Upper Egypt and contributed to the declaration of Wadi Allaqi as a conservation area and...