Nile River delta: tough choices

Adaptation to climate change demands major investments. At the same time, many countries are trying to deal with other urgent issues: overpopulation, shortages of drinking water and food, and drought.

Which is more urgent: tackling your current problems or protection for the future? In Egypt, the UNDP is working on an integrated approach to coastal zone management.

What should we do? Solve the present problems or work on protection for the future?

The coastline around the Nile Delta is 240 kilometers in length; Alexandria is the westernmost city and Port Said the farthest to the east. Fifty percent of the population of Egypt lives in the Delta and forty percent of its industry is established there. The area hosts unique ecosystems while the majority of fishery and agricultural production comes from the Nile Delta. Moreover, there are very many valuable, historic locations. Alexandria alone attracts two million visitors from all around the world every year read more ยป

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Article information

This is an abstract of an article, published in the magazine Deltas in times of climate change.

Author of this article
Ria de Wit

Contacts

Dr Mohamed Bayoumi
Environment Specialist, Assistant Resident
Representative, UNDP Egypt
mohamed.bayoumi{at}undp.org