From the 1980s onward, billions of dollars were poured into irrigation improvement programs in Egypt. These aimed at improving local Nile water management through the introduction of more water-efficient technology and by placing management of the improved systems in the hands of local water user associations. The central premise of most of these programs was that the functioning of such associations could rely on the revival of traditional forms of social capital-social networks, norms, and trust-for their success. Social Capital and Local Water Management in Egypt shows how the far-reaching social changes wrought at the village level in Egypt through the twentieth century rendered such a premise implausible at best and invalid at worst. Dalia Gouda examines networks of social relationships and their impact on the exercise of social control and the formation of collective action at the local level and their change over time in four villages in the Delta and Fayoum governorates. Outlining three time frames, pre-1952, 1952-73, and 1973 to the present, and moving between multiple actors-farmers, government officials, and donor agencies-Gouda shows how institutional and technological changes during each period and the social changes that coincided with them yielded mixed successes for the water user associations in respect of water management. Social Capital and Local Water Management in Egypt is essential reading for anyone working in the field of community based natural resource management in Egypt, including policymakers and practitioners, donor agencies, and civil society organizations, as well as anthropologists and sociologists.

Mediterranean irrigation is diverse due to, among other factors, the relative importance of water in the economy of each country, varied levels of aridity, heterogeneous levels economic, social and technological levels of development, and differences in political and social organization. However, most of the Mediterranean countries face similar problems to meet their water demands because of the scarcity and variability of renewable resources, growing water requirements from non-agricultural sectors, increasing environmental concerns related to water quality and environmental degradation, a social demand for larger public participation, and important technological changes. The time has come to reconsider the “not one drop lost to the sea” philosophy of yesteryears largely and to 'live within limits'. This book focuses on eight selected countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Egypt) and provides a comparative perspective that both thoroughly explores their specificities and identifies the common challenges faced by the irrigation sector in these countries. The book has been written at a critical moment, when the continued application of a supply-side water management model is revealing its unsustainable nature in numerous places; when significant technological changes are taking place in the irrigation sector; when new forms of management and governance are widely held as badly needed; and finally, when climate change is compounding many of the difficulties that have characterized irrigation policies and practices in the past decades. This complicated future context makes Mediterranean irrigation face various political dilemmas on water management, raising social tensions, triggering territorial and land conflicts, and stimulating new technological developments. This book provides a timely analysis of the particular trajectory of eight Mediterranean countries in these uncertain transformations, and attempts to identify the best strategies to avert or overcome future risks.

This unique volume discusses various aspects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Aswan High Dam (AHD) including their positive and negative impacts. It presents up-to-date research findings by Egyptian scientists and researchers covering several interesting hot topics under the following main themes: · Major impacts of GERD compared with the AHD · Environmental impacts of the AHD · Modeling scenarios investigating the impacts of GERD on the AHD and downstream · Environmental and social impacts of GERD on Egypt · Status and assessment of the sediment of the AHD reservoir and modeling the impacts of GERD on Lake Nubia sediment accumulation · Proposed scenarios for maximizing the benefits of the AHD reservoir · International aspects of GERD and the AHD The volume also offers a set of conclusions and recommendations to optimize the cooperation between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. It appeals to postgraduate students, researchers, scientists, professionals and policy planners.

Using governorate-level national data and household survey data, we build a typology of farm households in Egypt that allows us to describe how different farm households behave in response to policy and environmental changes affecting their resources, welfare, and opportunities in output and input markets. One of the major contributions of this study is the building of a unique dataset that combines various data sources at different levels of aggregation, providing the information needed to model the farm typology. We used this dataset as the input of a multi-step procedure that includes the use of principal components and cluster analyses to identify 14 household types. To illustrate possible uses of the typology, we look at the vulnerability of the different types of households to projected changes in temperature, water availability, and water demand from crops due to climate change, and discuss which farmers, production systems, and regions will be most affected by climate shocks. We assumed that increased temperatures by 2050 would result in increased water demand and reduced yields for most crops due to heat stress and harsher growing conditions. We define three climate change scenarios that differ in the expected water flows of the Nile into the Aswan High Dam. Results of simulations using a household model suggest that Egypt is likely to experience a significant reduction in output, agricultural labor demand, and cultivated area because of climate change, although the severity of this outcome will depend on the magnitude of changes in the Nile’s flow. Most affected by these changes will be small and average households producing field crops. Our results suggest that to mitigate the risks and possible future impacts of climate change, the country will need to: Move away from policies supporting production of cereals and water-inefficient crops towards diversification of production into water-efficient high-value crops; facilitate the access of skilled resource-poor producers to capital and markets; and create opportunities for off-farm employment and income for smallholders that are using resources inefficiently.

This book gathers contributions discussing climate change in Egypt from an agricultural perspective. Written by leading experts, it presents state-of-the-art insights and the latest research developments in light of the most recent IPCC report. Focusing on identifying the specific phenomena that affect climate change in Egypt, the book also addresses the effects of climate change in Egypt, particularly examining the quality and quantity of water resources as well as the socio-economic impacts of climate change on agricultural activities. Furthermore, it explores alternative solutions to support agriculture and food security and raises awareness of adaptation and protection as the key to adapting to the risks posed by climate change. Covering the four fundamental pillars of climate change: food security, availability, access and stability, this book is a valuable resource for stakeholders involved in achieving the 2030 sustainable development goals in Egypt and all countries with similar climatic conditions. It is also a unique source of information and updates on climate change impacts for graduates, researchers, policy planners, and decision-makers.

"The author taps into several scholarly traditions to examine the way people of Cairo interact with one another, with the government, and with social structures in order to navigate the water systems (and lack thereof) that affect their lives, day-to-day. The author's extensive ethnographic fieldwork during the implementation of the septic system shines through in the stories that she tells of people in the community during these transitions, and as the long-term impacts of the Egyptian revolution and subsequent military coup have become clearer"--

The importance of a resilient agriculture sector in providing food security, livelihoods, and household income was highlighted in many countries by the recent pandemic, as was the capacity of the sector to cushion the negative impacts of the subsequent economic slowdown. This has been the case in Egypt, where agriculture has been resilient to the health crisis in comparison with the service and industry sectors (Breisinger et al. 2020). However, the sector’s resiliency is gradually being corroded by climate change, with lasting, harmful effects for agriculture and food systems.

Increasing population pressure and population density in many African countries are inducing land scarcity and land constraints. These increasing land constraints are expected to trigger various responses and adaptation strategies, including agricultural intensification induced by land scarcity, as postulated by the Boserup hypothesis. However, most empirical evaluations of the Boserup hypothesis come from rainfed agriculture and mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where application of improved agricultural inputs remains historically low. Agricultural intensification practices as well as the relevance of the Boserup hypothesis in irrigated agriculture and in contexts where application of improved inputs is high remains unexplored. Furthermore, while much of the debate on the topic in Africa has focused on how to boost agricultural intensification, there is scant evidence on whether evolving agricultural intensification practices in some parts of Africa are sustainable, yield-enhancing, and optimal. In this paper we investigate the implication of land scarcity on agricultural intensification and the relevance of the Boserup hypothesis in the context of Egypt, where agriculture is dominated by irrigation and input application rates are much higher than SSA. We also examine whether evolving agricultural intensification practices induced by land scarcity are agronomically appropriate and yield-enhancing. We find that land scarcity induces higher application of agricultural inputs, mainly nitrogen fertilizers, sometimes beyond the level that is agronomically recommended. More importantly, land scarcity increases overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer relative to crop-specific agronomic recommendations. This implies that land constraints remain as important challenges for sustainable agricultural intensification. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that such overapplication of nitrogen fertilizers is not yield-enhancing, but, rather, yield-reducing. We also document that land scarcity impedes mechanization of agriculture. Our findings have important implications to inform appropriate farm management and sustainable intensification practices. Furthermore, our results can inform long-term policy responses to land scarcity.

The countries that make up the MENA region display wide diversity. One of the poorest countries in the world sits alongside two of the wealthiest, whilst the region's natural resources range from immeasurable oil and gas reserves to some of the scantiest natural endowments anywhere in the world. Yet through this diversity runs a common thread: water scarcity. Now, through the impact of human development and climate change, the water resource itself is changing,bringing new risks and increasing the vulnerability of all those dependent on water. Chris Ward and Sandra Ruckstuhl assess the increased challenges now facing the countries of the region, placing particular emphasis on water scarcity and the resultant risks to livelihoods, food security and the environment. They evaluate the risks and reality of climate change in the region, and offer an assessment of the vulnerability of agriculture and livelihoods. In a final section, they explore the options for responding to the new challenges, including policy, institutional, economic and technical measures.