The role of social services in planning to address environmental challenges and their impact on sustainable development at the level of Egyptian local communities.

This study aims to explore the role of social work in planning to address environmental challenges and its impact on achieving sustainable development. The study employed the descriptive-analytical method, using a questionnaire distributed to a sample of 200 social workers working in various social and environmental institutions in Egypt. The questionnaire covered three main dimensions: the role of social work in planning, addressing environmental challenges, and its contribution to sustainable development.
The results revealed a high level of awareness among respondents regarding the planning role of social work, with an overall mean score of 4.05 on the five-point Likert scale. Findings also indicated that social institutions exert significant efforts in addressing environmental challenges (overall mean = 3.97), and that social work makes a considerable contribution to achieving sustainable development (overall mean = 4.07). Statistical analysis showed strong and significant correlations between the three dimensions, in addition to significant differences by age in favor of the 30–40 age group. Regression analysis demonstrated that the planning role of social work and addressing environmental challenges explain about 62% of the variance in sustainable development.
The study concluded with several recommendations, most notably: enhancing the participation of social workers in environmental policy-making, intensifying environmental awareness programs, integrating sustainability concepts into social work programs, and strengthening partnerships between governmental and non-governmental institutions to achieve more comprehensive environmental development.