Desertification Challenge in Egypt Prof. Ismail Abdel Galil Hussein Chairman of Desert Research Center National focal point of UNCCD EGYPT IS HYPERARID • Egypt occupies about one million square kilometers, 86% lies entirely in hyper arid and 14% in arid climatic conditions. • Egypt has early ratified the UNCCD ( July 1995 ) 1 Causes of desertification Human activities: • Global climate change • Extinction of biodiversity • Contamination and pollution of air ,water, and land • Enrichment of the resources with persistent organic pollutants • Removal of biomass for fuel • Over cultivation • Overgrazing • Mismanagement of water resources • Land mining Climate variations Desertification Indirect Drivers Indirect Drivers • Demographic Equilibrium • Economic Ecosystem Pressure • Socio-political State • Science & Tech. 2 nn oo ii tt uu inducedinduced EcosystemEcosystem imbalancellimbalance - U ll DesertificationDesertificationr DirectDirect ooDriversDriversf b PP o a n on ty ii tii sii Human zat c r iin ve iion xt ii E od bii Removal of biomass Overexploitation of natural Equilibrium esources for fuel State ThresholdThreshold G llo ob on a tii ch ll a a cll g i iiv g n im t nn g ll ii e a u zz tt c e e aa iiv rr s gg n rr te ee In vv O TheThe DilemmaDilemmaBalanceBalance ?????? Overexploitation Pollution(sustainability) (Intensive cultivation) NationalismGlobalization aspiration) Food SecurityWelfare (Human 3 IndividualismNationalism Demographic Pressure ﻋﺪد اﻟﺴﻜﺎن 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1897 1937 1947 1969 1979 1989 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2017 Illiteracy rate + Religious + Culture and traditions reasons A demographic imbalance Inland migration towards the cities Resulted in : Increasing population density Increasing unemployment rates 1700/km2 67/km2 Led to : Increasing poverty rates Increasing criminal acts 4 Water Shortage (Water hsare Per capita (m3 ﻋﺪد اﻟﺴﻜﺎن 100 5000 90 4500 80 4000 70 3500 60 3000 50 2500 40 2000 30 1500 20 1000 10 500 0 0 1897 1937 1947 1969 1979 1989 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2017 1897 1907 1917 1927 1937 1947 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Salinity About 2 million feddans suffer from Stalinization problems. 60% of the cultivated lands of Northern Delta region are salt affected. Due to: • The misuse of irrigation water . • Improper field drainage systems . ( 4 million acres of 7.4 million have been provided with field drainage systems). 5 Salt affected areas in Egypt El-Fayoum Siwa oases Inland migration towards the cities Agriculture business No more Productive Profitable 6 Socio-economic aspects Prioritization Globalization Individualism ? Food +…… Poor Water Management 7 Unsustainable Agricultural Practices The use of water skimming wells in the costal areas ,where lenses of thin fresh water exist .These kinds of wells require high degree of precision in operation and management of the system Assessment of the ground water resources in quantity and quality is a must to mitigate : Serious salinity problems Overuse of groundwater Biodiversity loss 8 Urbanization •Urban encroachment and soil scarping. •Losses was estimated by about 20,000 Feddan / year). Urbanization is expected to rise in a “business-as –usual “ scenario Loss Of Productive land 9 Seawater Intrusion Efforts to prevent Salinization of the productive agricultural soils and to conserve the sea shore-line from sea water intrusion, Water logging Med. Sea ﻣﺮﺳﻰ ﻣﻄﺮوح 10 Pollution Cause : The extensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and agrochemicals amendments . led to : Excessive leaching of nitrates to the water table and further to the groundwater resources causing health and environmental hazards . Water Erosion 11 Soil Erosion Sand Dune encroachment Experiences in fixation of sand dunes using varied technologies of mechanical, chemical and biological fixation of mobile dunes were tested and applied in several activities in the North Coastal areas In general despite the implementation of several projects for sand dunes fixation especially in North Sinai, the treated areas are far from adequate due to : z Lack of adequate numbers of transplants and materials used. z Lack of personal and appropriate experiences. z Lack of participation of local stakeholders and their conviction and awareness of the significance of the problem. z Lack of adequate financial resources. 12 The Challenge Food Security Is threatened by Desertification Resources Population The National strategy up to 2017: z Horizontal expansion (3.4 million Fed.) z Vertical expansion ( increase productivity) z Policy reform Way -out ? 13 Land Reclamation Plan Future plan up to 2017 Under reclamation Reclaimed land land reclamation strategy of Egypt Targets: • Food security * Demographic distribution balance * Private sector role * Cost-benefit efficiency * Socio-economic considerations in Land tenure : Three different types have been approached: 1.Traditional: small acreages (5-10 feddan) for the graduates, beneficiaries and retired individuals. 2. Non-Traditional: Large acreages 100,000 feddan for the private sector companies. 3. Mega projects: 300,000 feddan to be sold in 100,000 feddan to big investors 14 Land reclamation policy reform Public sector (feddan) Private sector (feddan) 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1982-1987 1987-1992 1992-1997 1997-2017 Public and private sector share in the land reclamation plan during 1987-2002 Conservation of land Resources from pollution Cause : The extensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and agrochemicals amendments . led to : Excessive leaching of nitrates to the water table and further to the groundwater resources causing health and environmental hazards . Approached by : z Research and extension activities. z Public awareness efforts. z Introduction of Integrated Pest Management practices. z Restrictive rules for importing and using pesticides. z Rational use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. 15 Groundwater Irrigated lands Assessment of the ground water resources in quantity and quality is a must to mitigate : • Serious salinity problems • Overuse of groundwater The use of water skimming wells,where lenses of thin fresh water exist .These kinds of wells require high degree of precision in operation and management of the system Water Harvesting 16 Salinity and Water logging Due to: • The misuse of irrigation water . • Improper field drainage systems . Resulted in : • Degradation of the productive soils Improvement : • Open and tile drainage • Biological drainage In order to : •Combating soil salinization and soil alkalinity. • Minimize soil logging and improve aeration • Enhance soil productivity by 17-25%. •Lowering of water table. •Improving physical and chemical soil properties. •Adding, additional areas to be cultivated upon conversion from open drainage to tile drainage. Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency The National Programmer for Safe Use of Treated Sewage Water for Afforestation 2.4 milliard cubic meter secondary treated waste water are available to establish 400,000 Feddan Agroforests. The geographic distribution of the forests 17 Desertification Process z Increased Carbon emission + Decreased Carbon sequestration Rustled in : = Global warming = Increasing ETp = Vegetation loss = Soil erosion = Reduced biological productivity = Desertification The challenge can be met through a strategy of a better use of agricultural biodiversity to fight desertification . Way-Out WE MUST RELAY ON OUR OWN WEALTH OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION z Plant biodiversity (genetic potential) can help rehabilitate degraded ecosystems in order to challenge problems such as : • Heat stress (Global warming) • Drought tolerant (Water scarcity) • Halophytes (Water quality degradation) •Nutrition value ( Food security) •Economic value increase farmers incomes (Poverty reduction) 18 Plant Genetic Resources Utilization Conservation The Egyptian Desert Gene Banks primary objective is to minimize the gap between conservation and utilization. Poverty and Biodiversity in Africa Areas where used as a proxy for Poverty are coincided with a high occurrence of invaluable wealth of Plant Genetic Resources 19 cennia marina I am enjoying saline Halophytes water ! zHalophytes are plant species Salt that grow naturally in saline exclusion Environments. zThey occupy a wide range of How are habitats – from wet , seacoast marches to dry, inland saline You, mum? deserts. BiosalineAgriculture 20 Medicinal plants Capparis spinosa ( Caper) Traditional Uses: seeds for treatment of feminine sterility and dysmenorrheal, they are crushed and applied externally on ulcers, ganglions and scrofula. the Mentha spicata( Mint) Traditional Uses: For cough, and cold Origanum syriacum (Syrian Origano) Volatile oil consisting of more than 80% carvacrol, resin and flavonoids Solenostemma arghel (Argel) Pregnane glycosides closely resemble cardiac glycosides, which are important in medicinal chemistry because of their effect on the cardiac muscle Biological Fixation of Sand Dune encroachment Dual purpose plants Sisal is one of the fast growing and economic revenue 21 Biological Fixation of Sand Dune encroachment Experiences in fixation of sand dunes using biological fixation of mobile dunes were tested and applied in several activities in the North Coastal areas In general despite the implementation of several projects for sand dunes fixation especially in North Sinai, the treated areas are far from adequate due to : - Lack of adequate numbers of transplants and materials used. - Lack of personal and appropriate