4
A . M . N e g m e t a l .
1 Background
Because the landmass of Egypt consists of 96% desert, 98% of the population resides
on only about 5% of the landmass, mostly on the land along the Nile River and
in the Nile Delta. Egypt’s vast areas are deserts have promising natural resources,
including solar radiation and agricultural activities (Fig. 1). The water crisis further
calls for particular attention as the Nile River presently supplies 97% of Egypt’s
freshwater resources. Despite these challenges facing Egypt, there is an urgent need to
enhance water consumption capacity and increase existing water supplies with more
sustainable alternatives. There are numerous suggested approaches for improving
efficiency. These approaches include treatment/reuse of wastewater and management
of groundwater resources (Abdel-Shafy and Mansour 2013).
On the one hand, although water resources in the desert are limited to the groundwater, it has a lot of other natural and cultural resources as well, given its history
dating back to the Antiquity era (Vivian 2000; Sampsell 2003). In the book edited by
Elkhouly and Negm (2021), Development and Management of the Natural Resources
in the Egyptian Deserts are discussed, while in the book “Groundwater in Egypt’s
Deserts” edited by Negm and Elkhouly (2021), the groundwater availability and
sustainability are discussed. In the social science field, there are studies done on the
desert land such as by Barnes (2014) on the farmer’s everyday politics in Fayoum,
or the desert urban planning by Sims (2014). In this book, the focus is on one typical
oasis in the Western Desert, namely, Dakhla Oasis. It consists of 15 chapters of
different approaches in natural and social sciences, and includes introduction and
the conclusions chapter. In Chap. 2 titled “The Egyptian Western Desert: Water,
Agriculture and the Culture of Oases Communities”, the authors provide a background of the Western Desert. It starts with a historical background, followed by
Fig. 1 Egypt map showing that Egypt is formed of a narrow green valley around the Nile River and
vast areas are deserts with promising natural resources including solar radiation and agricultural
activities
A . M . N e g m e t a l .
1 Background
Because the landmass of Egypt consists of 96% desert, 98% of the population resides
on only about 5% of the landmass, mostly on the land along the Nile River and
in the Nile Delta. Egypt’s vast areas are deserts have promising natural resources,
including solar radiation and agricultural activities (Fig. 1). The water crisis further
calls for particular attention as the Nile River presently supplies 97% of Egypt’s
freshwater resources. Despite these challenges facing Egypt, there is an urgent need to
enhance water consumption capacity and increase existing water supplies with more
sustainable alternatives. There are numerous suggested approaches for improving
efficiency. These approaches include treatment/reuse of wastewater and management
of groundwater resources (Abdel-Shafy and Mansour 2013).
On the one hand, although water resources in the desert are limited to the groundwater, it has a lot of other natural and cultural resources as well, given its history
dating back to the Antiquity era (Vivian 2000; Sampsell 2003). In the book edited by
Elkhouly and Negm (2021), Development and Management of the Natural Resources
in the Egyptian Deserts are discussed, while in the book “Groundwater in Egypt’s
Deserts” edited by Negm and Elkhouly (2021), the groundwater availability and
sustainability are discussed. In the social science field, there are studies done on the
desert land such as by Barnes (2014) on the farmer’s everyday politics in Fayoum,
or the desert urban planning by Sims (2014). In this book, the focus is on one typical
oasis in the Western Desert, namely, Dakhla Oasis. It consists of 15 chapters of
different approaches in natural and social sciences, and includes introduction and
the conclusions chapter. In Chap. 2 titled “The Egyptian Western Desert: Water,
Agriculture and the Culture of Oases Communities”, the authors provide a background of the Western Desert. It starts with a historical background, followed by
Fig. 1 Egypt map showing that Egypt is formed of a narrow green valley around the Nile River and
vast areas are deserts with promising natural resources including solar radiation and agricultural
activities