Neither sufficient
agricultural land nor water resources give Egypt the security it
needs while it remains hideously overpopulated. Land is undergoing a
lot pressure and this in turn reduces the sustainability of resources
that are produced from these lands for future generations. It is no
myth that there will be much struggling to come!
There are seven major
factors promoting land degradation and desertification in Egypt says
a report titled ‘Egypt State of the Environment Report 2005’ that
was released in 2006 by the Ministry of State for Environmental
Affairs. The report outlines the seven factors as follows (not in
descending or ascending magnitude, however):
Urbanization: It is
not surprising to see so many buildings stand tall and others under
construction in Egypt with a demographic pace that knows no
deceleration. From an agricultural point of view land that was once
used for biomass production, including food and medicine, is
transformed to accommodate residential settlements and/or
infrastructures for different purposes such as office buildings,
factories and domestic farms. In 2005 new legislation was passed
where the ratio of urban encroachment over agricultural land dropped
from 30,000 feddans to 5,000 feddans.
I
think it is also worth mentioning the relationship between land
degradation and poverty, one of the leading factors of population
growth! The poor can barely afford labor and so there only option is
to make use of their children, only to realize years later that they
can’t even afford them. How does this then cause land degradation?
The revenue generated from their croplands just isn’t enough to
raise their families and so they are cornered into selling arable
land that is then urbanized, thus completely losing its
sustainability factor.
Water Logging and
Soil Salinity: Agricultural practices in Egypt lack water management
techniques with emphasis on conventional surface irrigation systems
that do not surpass 60% efficiency. Using agricultural water run-off
mixed with water from Canals only increases the salinity of the
irrigation water to be used making it inappropriate for the
practice. A few other contributing aspects are the drilling of
groundwater wells and their over exploitation and the intrusion of
saline waters in coastal areas. Several studies have revealed that
30% of irrigated lands in Egypt have been intruded by saltwater.
Pollution: As a
result of atmospheric pollution many contaminants tend to
precipitate into the River Nile. In addition to this contamination
there is treated sewage water and agricultural drainage water that
is fed to the Nile containing fertilizers and pesticides and
therefore deteriorating the major source of irrigation water which
consequently has an effect on the lands that will be irrigated.
Soil Fertility
Depletion: Ever since the Aswan Dam was built a decline in Nile
alluvium carrying basic nutrient elements had occurred. This in turn
led to a decrease in organic fertilizer passively transported by the
Nile and has been one of the reasons as to why soil fertility has
worsened. As a result vegetation production has also declined. This
lack of agricultural production due to insufficient quantities of
basic nutrient elements and degradation of fertility had reached
nearly 15%.
Physical Land
Degradation: Intensive agriculture in agrarian lands has caused over
exploitation where farmers attempt to undertake most agricultural
practices such as surface plowing, pest control and harvesting all
of which have been carried out with inappropriate tools and under
conditions that are not suitable leaving land with degraded soil and
plow pans that constrain growth, deepen plant roots and lessening
the efficiency of agricultural drainage. As a result productions in
the areas of the north and northeast Delta region have decreased by
approximately 8%.
Soil Erosion: Due to
Egypt’s arid nature it is constantly threatened by wind erosion
which amplifies the desertification process especially in the
eastern, western and Sinai deserts that are categorized as sensitive
and fragile habitats having very little vegetation and experience
severe droughts. Some studies have concluded that the wind erosion
ratio in Egypt is 5.5 tons/hectare a year in oases areas in the
western desert and 71-100 tons/hectare a year in areas where
agriculture is rain fed such as the northwest coast. This
exemplifies how wind erosion poses a threat on soils in these areas
ranging from moderate to severe. Rainfall in addition to wind can
also serve as an erosion factor where areas in the north coast, Red
Sea, Aqaba Gulf, south Sinai and some eastern desert valleys
experience what is known as water erosion also have serious impacts
on soil that bring about desertification.
Sand Dunes: Sleeping
giants many of us do not wish to awaken; and they cover 16.6% of the
states area! Just as wind causes soil erosion it can also displace
these mountains of sand and bring them closer to agricultural lands
and endanger residents in both urban and rural areas. Some active
dunes have already taken the course in threatening several areas in
Egypt such as the west Delta, Fayoum and Wadi El Rayan, western
Minya, Assyout and Beni Swaif, El-Kharja Oasis, northwest High Dam
and to the east Delta and north is Sinai with stress on some sites
around Al Salam Canal.
There are 5 million
feddans being degraded and the clock is ticking; impetuous action
needs to be taken to at least impede such a destructive process if we
cannot bring it to a halt. The Ministry of State for Environmental
Affairs has already made the move and their modus operandi looks
promising. They’ve taken up two trends, each addressing key issues
that will counter the problem of land degradation as land is a major
donor of goods and services that contribute positively to the
well-being of Egyptians and not to mention that agriculture generates
approximately 15% of the countries GDP.
The First Trend:
Controlling Land Degradation Factors
Pollution Reduction
Genetically
modified crops that have resistance to agricultural pests are being
introduced to reduce the usage of chemical pesticides that have
serious health implications.
Promoting
forestation using treated sewage water in a targeted 400,000
feddans and that way opposing desertification with vegetation
growth and also making use of wastewater, which would other, wise
be disposed in the Nile and cause water pollution.
No subsidies on
commercial fertilizers making them less affordable to farmers, who
would consequently use less fertilizer, generate less waste and
maintain land and water that is free from pollution.
Land Improvement and
Upgrading Its Productivity
With generous
donors such as the World Bank and other institutions a national
program of agricultural drainage having a 5 year life span
(2002-2007) has been adopted and an estimated 5.75 million feddans
have tiled drainage.
The establishment
of the ‘Executive Authority of Projects for Land Improvement’
which aims to improve agricultural land physical properties by
implementing soil laser leveling operations aiming at raising the
efficiency of distributing and using irrigation water (i.e. water
management), sub-soiling to disintegrate plow pans and the usage of
gypsum to treat soil alkalinity.
The Second Trend: Desert
Expansion Operations
Egypt’s total area is
approximately one million square kilometers of which 6% of the total
area is occupied. This is a shocking figure considering the country’s
current population at eighty million citizens and ongoing; that is
excluding the influx of tourists (more than ten million tourists in
2007 and expected to rise to 14 million in 2011), expatriates and
immigrants. It drives one to wonder how such a hefty nation can
withstand this compaction. Well, the state has embarked on a strategy
to expand its developments into the desert to support urban
communities and occupy 25% of the states area, which is equivalent to
an approximate 50-60 million feddans. There will be 600,000 feddans
used for cultivation development, the Al Salam Canal project.
Already existing
agricultural areas will be improvised by the state where they will
start introducing sustainable methodologies to endure the practice in
these areas. Efforts will also be made to bring forward development
within communities. Projects included the ‘Matrouh Resources
Development Project’ which undertook rain water harvesting and
horticulture and crop productivity enhancement; German Aid Agency
(GTZ) joint project which emphasized on promoting indigenous
knowledge and targeting developmental needs in areas of local
communities; and the national project for Sinai aiming at advancing
the cultivation fruits and combating the encroachment of sand dunes.
As humans we need to
magnify the benefits land has to offer us through involvement and
knowledge. In other words we need to create awareness amongst
ourselves. However, the reverse seems to be happening as human
impacts continue to escalate due to high demands, and as a result
have unfavorable effects on security ranging from rivalry for
decreased resources to other biotic factors such as droughts and
floods both contributing to land degradation. An effect on access to
essential material for a good life as a result of increased
consumption and poor land management is probable. The standard health
of people shall decline since shortages of food supplies and
transmittance of disease begin to escalate. Distress on social
relations occurs due to conflicts over resources, originally produced
from land. People begin to become constrained as they become less
capable of undertaking critical steps for achieving their well being.
With the rate were going, the future generations have little ground
to play on!
It is our duty to become
aware and for decision makers to have a multiple facetted
understanding of the situation taken into account science, social,
economic, and cultural knowledge in order for them to begin a new era
of lifestyle and security. With such innovations we will allow our
once arable land to continue providing us with goods and services
without altering its ability to provide in the long term.
