.
Introduction
.
l
The Egyptian Nile Delta coast represents a sensitive ecosystem, affected “by a range
of natural and
anthropogenic stresses. The most important human impact on the
È
ecosystem wasthe COnstruct‘ion of the .AsWan Dam, which- strongly impacted the Nile
l
Delta natural ecosystem, causing, among others, the disappearance of Cyperus papyrus
swamps (Frihy et al., 1990). Year=found intensive agriculture and farmmg, made posable
by the dam, has caused much of the loss of the wetland areas and habitats for many
'
l
birds and other animals. The dam also disrupts flows of sediments and nutrients to the
delta ecosystem, causing the soils in the floodplains to be poor and requiring heavy
[
application of fertilizers. Further, the Nile Delta is heavily populated with an average
density of 1,000 persons/km2, and higher in major towns like Cairo. The pressure
l
increases with the high population growth rate of 2.1% per year. Fertilizer run-offs and
l
industrial/sanitary’wastewater discharges are two major anthropogenic problems faced in
the Nile Delta. Adding to that is the heavy concentration of traffic in the Suez Canal of oil
tankers, and cargo and passenger vessels, which causes environmental concerns related
l
to accidental oil spills, illegal disposal of solid waste, and discharge of untreated sewage
(Nasr and Ahmed, 2007). Generally, the_Delta coast problems and issues can be
discussed as follow:
‘
_
'
Shoreline erosion and flooding
_
l
This issue deals with all problems related to coastal protection by natural and manî
made protection systems. Natural, sandy coasts maybe subject to erosion, leading to
jl
land lossesand deterioration of the natural protection system. Erosion may also threaten
the stability ofman— made protection systems. The safety from flooding of flood-prone .
areas depends on the condition of both the natural and man—made protection systems.
Both erosion and safety from-flooding may be aggravated by human activities inducing
e.g. subsidence, climate change (changes in waterlevels and storm frequency), and
changes to sediment budgets, (Ahmed, 2003).
Irrational land use
'
-
.
In view of the scarcity of suitable land resources and high development pressures
related to rapid population growth, there is a high risk of uncontrolledand undesired land
use development. Problems arising from this are“ e.g.: development in unsuitable areas
(saline, polluted) or unsafe areas (land losses, flood risk); deterioration and overexploitation of water and land resOurces and natural habitats; land use conflicts between
_
uses/users (agriculture, human settlement, tourism, nature preservation); unbalanced
and non—optimal development Of SC8FC€ land resources, In View Of their multiple use
options, coastal areas are specifically vulnerable to these developments. Hence, during
the Hurghada workshop in 1994, it was strongly recommended to enhance
procedures related to land use planning, their implementation on national and regional
levels, and their integration with ICZM, (Nasr, 1997).
:
Water pollution
.
The
incidence of water pollution is a common threat to aquatic systems and
espec1ally to_coastal
water systems which often serve as a sink to land—related pollution,
‘
both from diffuse, large scale sources related to e.g. agriculture (fertilizer, pesticidæ) îÏ
5
and
spemc waste water flows from point sources. In addition, the coastal water
problems are aggravated by
coastal and marine related pollution sources such as waste Î
water_flows from
domestic sources, industry and tourism, and spills from offshore f %
8CtlVIÏIGS and manne Îran5p0rt- Il"! addition tO the deterioration of natural resources and
Introduction
.
l
The Egyptian Nile Delta coast represents a sensitive ecosystem, affected “by a range
of natural and
anthropogenic stresses. The most important human impact on the
È
ecosystem wasthe COnstruct‘ion of the .AsWan Dam, which- strongly impacted the Nile
l
Delta natural ecosystem, causing, among others, the disappearance of Cyperus papyrus
swamps (Frihy et al., 1990). Year=found intensive agriculture and farmmg, made posable
by the dam, has caused much of the loss of the wetland areas and habitats for many
'
l
birds and other animals. The dam also disrupts flows of sediments and nutrients to the
delta ecosystem, causing the soils in the floodplains to be poor and requiring heavy
[
application of fertilizers. Further, the Nile Delta is heavily populated with an average
density of 1,000 persons/km2, and higher in major towns like Cairo. The pressure
l
increases with the high population growth rate of 2.1% per year. Fertilizer run-offs and
l
industrial/sanitary’wastewater discharges are two major anthropogenic problems faced in
the Nile Delta. Adding to that is the heavy concentration of traffic in the Suez Canal of oil
tankers, and cargo and passenger vessels, which causes environmental concerns related
l
to accidental oil spills, illegal disposal of solid waste, and discharge of untreated sewage
(Nasr and Ahmed, 2007). Generally, the_Delta coast problems and issues can be
discussed as follow:
‘
_
'
Shoreline erosion and flooding
_
l
This issue deals with all problems related to coastal protection by natural and manî
made protection systems. Natural, sandy coasts maybe subject to erosion, leading to
jl
land lossesand deterioration of the natural protection system. Erosion may also threaten
the stability ofman— made protection systems. The safety from flooding of flood-prone .
areas depends on the condition of both the natural and man—made protection systems.
Both erosion and safety from-flooding may be aggravated by human activities inducing
e.g. subsidence, climate change (changes in waterlevels and storm frequency), and
changes to sediment budgets, (Ahmed, 2003).
Irrational land use
'
-
.
In view of the scarcity of suitable land resources and high development pressures
related to rapid population growth, there is a high risk of uncontrolledand undesired land
use development. Problems arising from this are“ e.g.: development in unsuitable areas
(saline, polluted) or unsafe areas (land losses, flood risk); deterioration and overexploitation of water and land resOurces and natural habitats; land use conflicts between
_
uses/users (agriculture, human settlement, tourism, nature preservation); unbalanced
and non—optimal development Of SC8FC€ land resources, In View Of their multiple use
options, coastal areas are specifically vulnerable to these developments. Hence, during
the Hurghada workshop in 1994, it was strongly recommended to enhance
procedures related to land use planning, their implementation on national and regional
levels, and their integration with ICZM, (Nasr, 1997).
:
Water pollution
.
The
incidence of water pollution is a common threat to aquatic systems and
espec1ally to_coastal
water systems which often serve as a sink to land—related pollution,
‘
both from diffuse, large scale sources related to e.g. agriculture (fertilizer, pesticidæ) îÏ
5
and
spemc waste water flows from point sources. In addition, the coastal water
problems are aggravated by
coastal and marine related pollution sources such as waste Î
water_flows from
domestic sources, industry and tourism, and spills from offshore f %
8CtlVIÏIGS and manne Îran5p0rt- Il"! addition tO the deterioration of natural resources and