Introduction to “Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security in Egypt”
9
of soil C due to chemical and biological decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC),
as well as erosion by wind and water. There is a general agreement that many agricultural ecosystems have a huge potential to sequester carbon in the soil, which could
decrease CO 2 concentrations in the air and mitigate its global emissions. Egyptian
soils are low in their C content. Thus its potential to sequester C is high. Therefore,
good management practices should be considered for enhancing soil C sequestration
in Egyptian soils, especially in degraded and desert soil. Climate change is indicated
as an increasing trend in atmospheric temperature and global changes in weather
conditions [8].
Climate change’s effect on global SOC stocks has recently been widely recognized
[8].
Moving from the soil to the sea, the chapter titled “Mapping Egypt Vulnerability
to Sea Level Rise Scenarios” is presented to highlight the threat of sea level rise on the
Nile Delta and present a methodology to develop a web vulnerability mapping tool
using Geographic Information Systems to study the different sea level rise scenarios
and to identify and map the areas that are most vulnerable to SLR on the Nile Delta
coast. Four scenarios are implemented to assess the impact of SLR, for 25, 50, 75,
and 100 cm.
The Nile Delta shoreline extends from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the
east, with a total length of about 285 km. The Nile Delta region in the Mediterranean
coastal zone represents the major industrial, agricultural, and economic resource of
the country. The region is characterized by relatively low land elevation, which leaves
it severely exposed to rising sea levels. In addition, it suffers from local land subsidence, compounding the effects of rising seas (https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/
files/file-attachments/Mohamed_1.pdf). This area is subject to shoreline changes
resulting from erosion and accretion, subsidence, and sea level rise resulting from
climate change.
In order to investigate and analyze such environmental problems and their impacts,
we must have a tool (SLRS) to understand these changes. The SLRS is a web mapping
tool based on the assessment of the IPCC definition of vulnerability. National and subnational geographic and socio-economic data have been gathered for the area of study
from different sources including Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), land
cover, urban areas, industrial zones, protected areas, power plants, and population
data.
3.3 Smart Farming
The smart farming theme is covered in 7 chapters. The chapter titled “Agricultural
Production in Egypt: Assessing Vulnerability and Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and
Resilience to Climate Change” address the challenges facing the agricultural production in Egypt due to climate change in the context of the impact of climate change
on the agricultural and water sectors globally and at the regional levels. The international community has endorsed five principles of sustainable food and agriculture in
9
of soil C due to chemical and biological decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC),
as well as erosion by wind and water. There is a general agreement that many agricultural ecosystems have a huge potential to sequester carbon in the soil, which could
decrease CO 2 concentrations in the air and mitigate its global emissions. Egyptian
soils are low in their C content. Thus its potential to sequester C is high. Therefore,
good management practices should be considered for enhancing soil C sequestration
in Egyptian soils, especially in degraded and desert soil. Climate change is indicated
as an increasing trend in atmospheric temperature and global changes in weather
conditions [8].
Climate change’s effect on global SOC stocks has recently been widely recognized
[8].
Moving from the soil to the sea, the chapter titled “Mapping Egypt Vulnerability
to Sea Level Rise Scenarios” is presented to highlight the threat of sea level rise on the
Nile Delta and present a methodology to develop a web vulnerability mapping tool
using Geographic Information Systems to study the different sea level rise scenarios
and to identify and map the areas that are most vulnerable to SLR on the Nile Delta
coast. Four scenarios are implemented to assess the impact of SLR, for 25, 50, 75,
and 100 cm.
The Nile Delta shoreline extends from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the
east, with a total length of about 285 km. The Nile Delta region in the Mediterranean
coastal zone represents the major industrial, agricultural, and economic resource of
the country. The region is characterized by relatively low land elevation, which leaves
it severely exposed to rising sea levels. In addition, it suffers from local land subsidence, compounding the effects of rising seas (https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/
files/file-attachments/Mohamed_1.pdf). This area is subject to shoreline changes
resulting from erosion and accretion, subsidence, and sea level rise resulting from
climate change.
In order to investigate and analyze such environmental problems and their impacts,
we must have a tool (SLRS) to understand these changes. The SLRS is a web mapping
tool based on the assessment of the IPCC definition of vulnerability. National and subnational geographic and socio-economic data have been gathered for the area of study
from different sources including Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), land
cover, urban areas, industrial zones, protected areas, power plants, and population
data.
3.3 Smart Farming
The smart farming theme is covered in 7 chapters. The chapter titled “Agricultural
Production in Egypt: Assessing Vulnerability and Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and
Resilience to Climate Change” address the challenges facing the agricultural production in Egypt due to climate change in the context of the impact of climate change
on the agricultural and water sectors globally and at the regional levels. The international community has endorsed five principles of sustainable food and agriculture in