“PROF. KASSAS is the very embodiment of all that is good in a human being. His life is his message. He has stood for achieving harmony between humankind and nature as well as peace and harmony among nations." M. S. Swaminathan*
Professor Mohamed Abdel Fattah Al-Kassas (July 6, 1921 - March 21, 2012) was one of the most extraordinary scientific luminaries in Egypt, he is among the pioneers who have warned the world against the hazards of desertification and has played an important role in designing and implementing a number of UNESCO programs such as Man and the Biosphere.
He was professor emeritus for the Botany University of Cairo, Egyptian botanist and conservationist, a specialist in the ecology of desert plants, his environmental and botanical work over many decades cut a broad and fertile swath in areas of desert ecology and environmental changes over time, especially in relation to desertification – a process he is held to have brought to both public and scientific attention and was among the first to publish on the topic of desertification. He studied at the University of Cairo, where he received a B.Sc. in 1944 and an M.Sc. in 1947, and at the University of Cambridge (Ph.D. in 1950). He was a member of the Egyptian Academy of Science and the Institute of Egypt. Prof. Kassas was an advisory member of the United Nations Environment Programme from its beginning, He was also the notable President (1978-1984) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Science, the World Academy of Art and Science, and an honorary member of the Club of Rome.