Biography:

Professor Hamdy is the Chairman of the Egyptian Society for Endogenous Development of Local Communities. He was Previous director of the Centre for Development of Small-Scale Industries and Local Technologies, the Faculty of Engineering, Ain-Shams University, Cairo and the International Coordinator of Group of Experts in Renewable Material Resources Research, United Nations Environmental Programme, Working Group on Sustainable Product Development.

He is Member of the Executive Committee of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility.

He received the following Awards:

Ain Shams University Award of Engineering Sciences, 2015

Khalifa International Date Palm Award (Best Development Project Category), 2013

International Khalifa Date Palm award for the best development project (2013)

? Award of the Best Poster of the Conference: Euromat-97, held in Maastrict, the Netherlands in the period 21-23 April, 1997 and organized by the European Federation of Material Sciences in the Subject: "A New Lumber-like Product from Date Palm Leaves' Midribs"

Award of the Egyptian Engineering Syndicate, Day of the Engineer, November, 1994

Abstract:

Future Horizons of the Role of Renewable Material Resources in Sustainable Development

The Earth Summit, held in Rio De Janiero in 1992 has stressed the significance of making a shift from reliance on the non-renewable resources to the reliance on renewable material resources (RMR) to realize the objective of sustainable development. RMR offer great chances for Egypt, who is distinguished with long history of agriculture, rich technical heritage in use of RMR and high vitality in rural areas. In addition RMR open two interfaces of innovation. The first interface lies between our perception of the properties of RMR and the criteria of performance of services or products, demanded on the local, national or international levels. The creative product of this interface is new ideas of services or products, associated with the use of RMR. The second interface lies between the idea of the new service or product and the socio-cultural context, where the service or product is produced. The creative product of this interface is a new technology, appropriate for the associated socio-cultural context. Within the framework of the RMR the agricultural residues (AGR) have high significance. AGR could be defined from the developmental point of view as an additional crop of the same investment in agriculture (e.g. land, water, energy, seeds, chemical inputs and human activity). AGR are at hands of the poor in rural areas in Egypt, were they owning small plots of land (the majority of peasants) or landless. Besides, RMR, are seasonally available in huge quantities, may turn to a source of environmental pollution if not economically used. Thus there is a harsh need to direct scientific and technological endeavours to rediscover AGR, and RMR at large, as a material base for dissemination of SMEs to satisfy contemporary human needs. Practical Examples are given on the application of the aforementioned approach on different types of AGR. A theoretical framework for use of AGR in sustainable development will be presented. This framework could be summarized as follows: whole resource use, definition of the different structural levels of perception of each element of the resource, composition of a matrix to determine the first optimum use of each resource element, categorization of RMR according to the criterion of renewability, utilization of the total development potential of each resource element and special distribution of industrial activities to realize the value of social justice. Finally the main challenges and future horizons of use of RMR are explained.