There are four major causes of desertification in Egypt. The first cause is the spreading of urban and peri-urban areas into the fertile land left in Egypt. Egypt has an increasing population and the population has been increasingly pushed into higher concentrated areas. Only 3% of Egypt’s land is agriculturally productive. This number is going down because the population growth in the country is taking over the land and it can no longer be used as farm land. The second cause is poor water management. Egypt has had issues with their water such as inefficiency of their traditional gravity irrigation system, inadequate maintenance of their irrigation and drainage networks, over abstraction of ground water, and seawater intrusion in coastal areas. The third cause is unsustainable agricultural practices. Some examples of this would be salinity, water logging, depletion of soil fertility, excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers, and inappropriate time and machines of tillage. The fourth cause is depletion of plant cover and conversion of range areas to other uses. This is being caused by shifting/expanding of field crops, overgrazing, encroachment of tourist villages and higher populations, increased density of livestock, increased development of stock watering points, transporting grazing herds and water over a far range of the country, decrease in traditional grazing systems, salinity build-up, and a harsh natural environment. All of these causes have resulted in an extreme desertification of Egypt. Some other causes, which have had less of an impact, but still have contributed to bring Egypt to where it is today, are problems such as poverty and hunger. Because there has been an increase in poverty in Egypt people are suffering from hunger so farmers will over harvest their ground, which in the end will further the desertification of the land. There have also been issues with wind erosion and water erosion. Wind erosion affects 90% of the total area in Egypt and on average rate of 4.5-66.9 tons/ha/year of soil is being lost due to wind erosion. Water erosion on an average rate losses 0.8-5.3 tons/ha/year of soil. There has also been a recorded loss of plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) which has been connected with soil loss.
Main Processes in Desertification:
Some of the main processes which occur in Egypt which have resulted in desertification are urbanization, salinization, pollution, soil fertility depletion, wind erosion, water erosion, and sand encroachment. Because of urbanization there is a loss of soil function and on average an annual loss of 15000-30000acres in Egypt. With salinization, 30% of irrigated farmlands are salt-affected. This effects the water infiltration, soil tilth, plant growth, and yield. The pollution in Egypt is due to a mismanagement of water and agricultural land and poor implementation of pollution control regulations. The solid fertility depletion is occurring because an extensive and increasing cropping in unsustainable conditions of irrigation water management and improper agricultural practices. The wind erosion in Egypt is most effective in the Western and Eastern desert and inland Sinai agro-ecological zones. It causes a fragility, vulnerability and nature of soil, aridity, and advancement of sand dunes. Water erosion is what is causing a loss of plant nutrients which is then causing soil loss. The area covered by sand is increasing in Egypt and sand dunes and other sand forms cover 16.6% of the land or 166000km2.
Impacts of Desertification:
Egypt lost 2 million feddans in the North Delta from rising ground levels, unsound drainage practices, and encroaching sand dunes. Desertification is killing feddans of soil capable of growing food.
“Can you imagine that we lose two feddans per hour from the best fertile land in the Nile Valley because of construction on agricultural land?” –Dr. Ismail Abdel Galil
The three main areas which desertification has affected Egypt are vegetation cover and grazing resources, water and soil resources, and socio-economic impacts. As for vegetation cover, there has been a decrease in the percentage of natural vegetation cover. This increases the ratio of invaders, noxious and harmful species, and plants of low forage value. There has also been a decline in most high and medium palatable species and in some cases total disappearance. There has been a decrease and disappearance of forage production which then is linked to site productivity and livestock performance and production. An overuse and mismanagement have caused a degradation of biotic and non-biotic components of the ecosystem such as flora, fauna, soil, water, and more. Also soil erosion from run-off has occurred due to rain fall on uncovered soil of low organic matter and poor structural stability. This run-off reduces infiltration, production, and ground water recharge. There has also been an increase in sand storms which causes the deposition of sand on natural vegetation which then reduces biological diversity of Egypts resources. There has been a major loss of top soil in Egypt and an increase in wind and water erosion. There has also been a major decrease in organic matter and nutrient depletion. The pollution has led to contamination of drinking water and has caused other environmental risks for the community as well. One of the greatest impacts has been on public health. There has been a contamination of drinking water, exposure to pathogenic bacteria and parasites, contamination of fish and food products, sandstorms and air-born dust, high expenses to combat the issues, and some villages have even been buried under sand deposits which are a result of the desertification throughout Egypt.
Egypt’s Strategies:
In 1994 Egypt signed onto the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This group outlines a framework for countries to work together to slow down desertification and reduce effects of drought. There are 192 countries involved and their main focus is to pass laws which ban using top soil as raw material for red bricks and restrict urban development on arable land and lastly regulate irrigation systems. In 2004 Egypt set up a National Gene Bank with facilities to preserve and store genetic material from flora and fauna to protect against future effects of desertification. Another thing that Egypt is doing to try to combat desertification is they are looking into “wonder plants” that may help to keep farmland productive. One of these plants is the morning tree. The morning tree is high in vitamin and mineral content and at ground level it purifies the water. Egypt wants to try to use groundwater to reverse desertification. Using geophysical technology and satellite images they are able to locate productive water sources in the Eastern Desert for their uses. Egypt is focused both on restricting the causes of desertification and trying to reverse the damage which has already been done.
Works Cited
Egyptian National Action Program to Combat Desertification. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.
“Environmentally Induced Migration: Desertification in Egypt.” The Bridge. Inst. for Environmental and Human Security, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.
Gheit, Zeinab Abul. “Desertification: The Silent Assasin.” Egypt Today: The Magazine of Egypt June 2008: n. pag. Blog at WordPress.com. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.
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