Water is a precious resource, essential to sustain livelihoods, food security, economic growth and the environment. Where there is no water, there is no life and no future. Nowhere is this more visible than in Egypt, an arid country that largely depends on flows from the River Nile.
Growing water scarcity, increased water variability due to climate change and rapidly deteriorating water quality have long been discussed in academic circles in the country and elsewhere but these issues can now be directly seen and felt. Is Egypt ready for addressing the threats to its economy, food security and overall development posed by growing water scarcity and degradation? Does the country have the right tools to provide insights and support to decisions that the country’s water policy makers need to make?
These were some of the questions addressed in the technical workshop on “Socio-economic impact of water scarcity and decline in Egypt” organized by the Arab Water Council and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Participants from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Climate Change Research Institute under the National Water Research Center, the Egyptian Meteorological Agency, the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Ain Shams University, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, from the Arab Water Council, League of Arab States and IFPRI presented the latest tools and methodologies to assess and address growing water shortages.
Key insights from the tools under development and in use include:
1) Egyptian agencies have access to the latest models, data and information on climate change impacts in the country. There are also several models that describe irrigation water allocation and use. A somewhat smaller set of tools is used for river basin management, while groundwater assessment tools are generally still under development. There is strong cooperation with international partners in the development of many, if not all of the tools under development.
2) While there is a multitude of tools and methodologies under development there is currently little coordination, exchange and sharing across agencies, ministries and universities. Such sharing or joint development of a smaller set of methods and analytical tools could lead to swifter model development, an increased number of disciplines involved in development, and stronger support for the final set of tools developed.
3) Most of the tools focus on biophysical relationships but there is a desire to increase understanding of the impacts of developments in the water, energy and food sectors on the overall economy to allocate scarce water resources to the most valuable users and uses. Thus, while the tools are available, closer coordination among agencies during development could save important resources, strengthen applicability of models as well as their use.
Which policy questions do these tools need to address to help Egypt and the MENA region address growing water scarcity and degradation? Some of the questions that were raised in the meeting and need addressing include:
1) What are the impacts of climate change on water, energy and food futures in Egypt? And which policies, institutions and investments can help reduce adverse impacts from climate change on these three sectors?
2) Given growing domestic-industrial water demands, how can water be moved from irrigation into these higher-valued uses without adverse affecting rural development and food security?
3) What policies and investments can best address the challenge of growing water pollution and degradation?
4) How should fossil groundwater be governed to support long-term rural development?
To answer these questions requires not only all the tools developed and under development, but also awareness raising on water scarcity, institution building for governing a scarce resource, enforcement of standards and rules, and strong involvement of farmers, the main water stewards in the country in transforming the country into a water-saving nation.
By : Claudia Ringler , Deputy Division Director of IFPRI’s Environment and Production Technology Division
Agenda
Welcome Remarks
- Clemens Breisinger: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
- Hussein El-Atfy: Arab Water Council (AWC)
- Hammou Lmrani: League of Arab State (LAS)
Economic and welfare impacts: A single country dynamic computable general equilibrium model:
- Perrihan Al-Riffai: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (See Slides)
Crop mapping and modeling
- Mohamed Abu Elgar: National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS) (See Slides)
Mapping and modeling affected areas by environment and climate stresses
- Wadid Erian: League of Arab States (LAS) – Arab Geographic Information Room (AGIR) (See Slides)
River basin modeling for policy analysis
- Claudia Ringler: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (See Slides)
Water modeling
- Eman Al Sayed: Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) (See Slides)
Modelling for integrated water management
- Peter Riad: Ain Shams University - Water & Hydraulic Structures Department (See Slides)
Groundwater for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
- Usman Khalid Awan: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) (See Slides)
Water mapping with Arab Spatial
- Hagar El-Didi: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (See Slides)
Climate change modeling for food security
- Bassem Abdel Latif,: National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS) (See Slides)
Climate change modeling for food security
- Ashraf Zaki: Egyptian Meteorological Authority (See Slides)
