Development of Land Use
and Groundwater in Rashda Village
(Dakhla Oasis), 1960s–2018
Erina Iwasaki, Adel Shalaby, Salwa F. Elbeih, and Hossam S. Khedr
Abstract Causes of agricultural land expansion and its impacts on arid ecosystems are fundamental problems challenging sustainability of societies depending
on groundwater. Consequently, a thorough understanding of this phenomenon is
necessary to avoid future problems. With the objective of identifying land expansion dynamics and the primary drivers, changes in land use in Rashda village—
Dakhla Oasis between 1968 and 2018 were analyzed. Land uses were identified
using 1968 Corona images and 1988 and 2003 Landsat images and 2018 Sentinel2 images. Groundwater data were collected from field survey and South Western
Desert groundwater central laboratory. Results indicated that the surface occupied
by irrigation agriculture has accelerated since 1968, and its area doubled over the
past 50 years. During that period, there was a simultaneous increase in total population and constructed wells during implementation of the New Valley Project. Thus,
human migration and national development are identified as potential drivers of land
expansion.
Keywords Land use · Groundwater · Satellite images · Wells · Landsat ·
Irrigation · Agriculture
E. Iwasaki (B)
Faculty of Foreign Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: iwasaki@sophia.ac.jp
A. Shalaby · H. S. Khedr
Environmental Studies and Land Use Division, National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space
Sciences (NARSS), Cairo, Egypt
S. F. Elbeih
Engineering Applications and Water Division, National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space
Sciences (NARSS), Cairo, Egypt
e-mail: saelbeih@narss.sci.eg; saelbeih@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
E. Iwasaki et al. (eds.), Sustainable Water Solutions in the Western Desert,
Egypt: Dakhla Oasis, Earth and Environmental Sciences Library,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64005-7_13
219
and Groundwater in Rashda Village
(Dakhla Oasis), 1960s–2018
Erina Iwasaki, Adel Shalaby, Salwa F. Elbeih, and Hossam S. Khedr
Abstract Causes of agricultural land expansion and its impacts on arid ecosystems are fundamental problems challenging sustainability of societies depending
on groundwater. Consequently, a thorough understanding of this phenomenon is
necessary to avoid future problems. With the objective of identifying land expansion dynamics and the primary drivers, changes in land use in Rashda village—
Dakhla Oasis between 1968 and 2018 were analyzed. Land uses were identified
using 1968 Corona images and 1988 and 2003 Landsat images and 2018 Sentinel2 images. Groundwater data were collected from field survey and South Western
Desert groundwater central laboratory. Results indicated that the surface occupied
by irrigation agriculture has accelerated since 1968, and its area doubled over the
past 50 years. During that period, there was a simultaneous increase in total population and constructed wells during implementation of the New Valley Project. Thus,
human migration and national development are identified as potential drivers of land
expansion.
Keywords Land use · Groundwater · Satellite images · Wells · Landsat ·
Irrigation · Agriculture
E. Iwasaki (B)
Faculty of Foreign Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: iwasaki@sophia.ac.jp
A. Shalaby · H. S. Khedr
Environmental Studies and Land Use Division, National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space
Sciences (NARSS), Cairo, Egypt
S. F. Elbeih
Engineering Applications and Water Division, National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space
Sciences (NARSS), Cairo, Egypt
e-mail: saelbeih@narss.sci.eg; saelbeih@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
E. Iwasaki et al. (eds.), Sustainable Water Solutions in the Western Desert,
Egypt: Dakhla Oasis, Earth and Environmental Sciences Library,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64005-7_13
219