CAIRO -

The Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, said that the Nile River Delta is one of the most threatened areas in the world and the most sensitive to climate changes, and that the phenomenon of climate change and sea level rise represents a great challenge for a large number of countries in the world, especially on coastal areas. For delta regions, which are characterized by low levels, which expose them to inundation with sea water.

In a statement published on the official page of the Council of Ministers, Abdel-Aty added that these challenges make the preservation of coastal areas from the effects of current and future climate changes a necessary issue in order to preserve the safety of citizens, and to preserve existing investments in industrial, agricultural and tourist areas located on the northern coasts of Egypt, especially Delta region.

It is worth mentioning that the Nile Delta is the area formed in northern Egypt between the two branches into which the Nile branches off before it flows into the Mediterranean, namely, Damietta Branch in the east and Rashid Branch in the west.

The Nile Delta extends for about 240 km on the Mediterranean coast, while its length from north to south is about 160 km, ending in the capital, Cairo.

About one-fifth of Egypt's population of more than 100 million lives in the Delta region.

Climate Conference

The statement quoted the Minister of Irrigation that during the past years, beach protection works have been carried out with lengths of up to 120 km, and work is under way to protect other lengths of up to 110 km, to work to stop the decline of the beach line in areas that suffer from severe erosion factors, and to recover beaches that were lost. by slaying.

The minister pointed out that these projects contribute to increasing tourism income in the areas where protection works are carried out, stabilizing tourist areas and acquiring new areas for tourism purposes, as well as protecting agricultural lands, some villages and low-lying areas from the dangers of seawater inundation.

The minister stressed that, in light of the great importance of the climate change file, Egypt is looking forward to hosting the upcoming 2022 Climate Conference (COP27), representing the African continent, as a golden opportunity to present the challenges of this continent in the field of water, with the water axis at the top of the agenda of the conference.

Gibraltar Dam

For his part, the former Minister of Environment, Khaled Fahmy, explained that the Nile Delta crisis began with the construction of the High Dam, which prevented silt from reaching the delta and its renewal, which posed great challenges and for which the Beach Protection Authority was established.

Fahmy pointed out, in televised statements, that climate changes made matters worse, especially with scenarios that expect a continuation of global warming, and consequently a rise in sea level, which necessitates the need for international collective action to protect the beaches and delta regions, especially the Mediterranean basin.

The former Minister of Environment referred to an ancient Egyptian project to build a dam at the Strait of Gibraltar to control the level of the Mediterranean Sea. The possibility of implementing it in cooperation with the basin countries could be studied.

Alexandria drowned

It is worth noting that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had indicated the possibility of the disappearance of Alexandria among 3 major cities in the world, due to climate changes and rising sea levels.

This came in statements he made during the global climate summit hosted by Scotland from October 31 to November 12 last year.