The country level pilot projects will form an important component of GWP’s Global Delta Governance Programme. The objectives of the workshop in Egypt on 16-17 June were to come up with key objectives and outcomes for the country-level pilot activity and to identify key partnerships.
Being one of the world’s most influential Deltas, the Nile Delta has its specific challenges and vulnerabilities. It covers 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich agricultural region. From north to south the delta is approximately 160 km in length. The Delta begins down-river from Cairo and about half of Egypt’s 80 million people live in the Delta region.
The discussions during the workshop pointed at a very important “niche” in building climate resilience in Egypt. Much work has been done already at regional and national level, but a lot of attention is still required for: “how the farming community can deal with future water shortage”.
The outputs of the workshop will be transformed in a concrete project proposal for pilot activities in Egypt. Proposal preparation will be coordinated by Dr. Khaled Abu Zeid in his capacity as country GWP representative, in close cooperation with Dr Mohamed Abdel Motaleb, the Head of the Egypt Wing of the Delta Alliance.
‘Enabling Delta Life’ is a collaborative initiative for water management and governance in deltas between GWP and the Delta Alliance, supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Development Cooperation.
Photo: The Nile near Luxor in Egypt.