Download [Draft]Monograph of Egypt-MENA-DELP

MENA-DELP Regional Project
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In support to Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia
Land Cover Thematic Atlas of North Africa & Jordan
MENA-DELP Project
Monograph of Egypt
Table of contents
1
Geographical features ..................................................................................................................... 3
2
Environmental context.................................................................................................................... 3
3
4
2.1
Water resources...................................................................................................................... 3
2.2
Soil resources .......................................................................................................................... 3
2.3
Main ecosystems .................................................................................................................... 3
2.4
Flora ........................................................................................................................................ 4
2.5
Fauna ....................................................................................................................................... 4
2.6
Fishery resources .................................................................................................................... 5
2.7
Mining resources..................................................................................................................... 5
2.8
Energy resources ..................................................................................................................... 5
Main environmental issues and challenges .................................................................................... 6
3.1
Water Resources scarcity and pollution ................................................................................. 6
3.2
Air pollution: ........................................................................................................................... 6
3.3
Land degradation .................................................................................................................... 6
Socio-economic activities................................................................................................................ 7
4.1
Agriculture: ............................................................................................................................. 7
4.2
Livestock.................................................................................................................................. 7
4.3
Fishing ..................................................................................................................................... 7
4.4
Mining: .................................................................................................................................... 7
4.5
Tourism ................................................................................................................................... 8
4.6
Industry ................................................................................................................................... 8
MENA-DELP Project
Monograph of Egypt
1 Geographical features
Egypt, a country located in Northeast Africa, has an area of 1 001 450 km². Egypt has coastlines on
both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Egypt borders Libya to the west, the Gaza Strip and
Israel to the northeast, and Sudan to the south.
The relief is characterized by:
-
Low-lying sand dunes cover and depressions of the Western and Libyan Deserts. East of the
Nile River, the semi-arid Arabian Desert extends to the edges of the Red Sea.
-
In the far southwest, the land rises into the Gilf Kebir Plateau, with elevations near 2,000 ft.
(609 m) Sandstone plateaus front the Nile and the Red Sea, with cliffs as high as 1,800 ft. (548
m). In the far southeast, the Red Sea Mountains, an extension of the Ethiopian Highlands,
continue on into Sudan. Le climat est semi-aride à aride dans la majeure partie de son
territoire de caractère méditerranéen, à la fois tempéré et chaud.
Egypt is almost entirely in the arid tropical zone. The whole country is subject to the desert climate.
Only a narrow band near the Mediterranean receives some rainfall (Alexandria, 166 mm, especially in
winter; Port Said, 173 mm).
The population of Egypt was estimated at 90 047 275 in 2015 with a growth rate of 1.6%. The
population density in Egypt was 94 per Km2 in 20151.
2 Environmental context
2.1 Water resources
The internal renewable surface water resources are estimated at 0,5 km3/yr. This brings total actual
renewable surface water resources to 56 km3/yr. the internal renewable groundwater resources are
estimated at 1,3 km3/yr. The overlap between surface water and groundwater being considered
negligible, the total actual renewable water resources of the country are thus 58,3 km3/yr2.
2.2 Soil resources
Egypt‘s total land area is 100,1 million hectares, the vast majority of which is desert. In 2013,
agricultural land comprised less than 3,778% of total land area. Egypt has almost 3.5 million hectares
of arable land and permanent cropland, 100% of which is irrigated. The Nile River Delta and the narrow
Nile River Valley comprise virtually all of this irrigated land. Egypt‘s agricultural land per capita of
agricultural population is among the world‘s lowest at 0,1 hectare, comparable to Bangladesh and
China. Yet at the same time, prime and limited agricultural land in the Nile Valley and Delta is being
lost at a rate of nearly 30,000 hectares per year due to urbanization3.
2.3 Main ecosystems
The major ecosystems of Egypt occur in four main regions:
Western Desert: covers an area of some 700 000 km2 and accounts for around two-thirds of Egypt's
total land area. This immense desert to the west of the Nile spans the area from the Mediterranean
Sea southwards to the Sudanese border.
1
http://donnees.banquemondiale.org/indicateur/
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/EGY/indexfra.stm
3
USAID country profile, property rights and resource governance in Egypt
2
Octobre 2016
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The desert's Jilf al Kabir Plateau at a mean altitude of some 1 000 m, constitutes an exception to the
uninterrupted territory of basement rocks covered by layers of horizontally bedded sediments forming
a massive plain or low plateau. The Great Sand Sea is located here as well as escarpments and deep
depressions. No rivers or streams drain into or out of the area. Depressions (six) are occupied by oases
apart from the largest (the Qattara Depression) which includes the country's lowest point (133 m
below sea level), encompasses approximately 15 000 km2, and has badlands, salt marshes and salt
lakes and is sparsely inhabited. Limited agricultural production occurs in the oases.
Sinia Peninsula: is triangular-shaped, about 61 100 km2 in area and contains mountains in its southern
sector that are a geological extension of the Red Sea Hills, and has the country's highest point, at 2
642 m above sea-level. The southern side of the peninsula has a sharp escarpment that subsides after
a narrow coastal shelf that slopes into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The elevation of Sinai's
southern rim is about 1 000 m.
Traditionally agriculture was mainly concentrated in the old land, characterized by its alluvial soil, in
the Nile Valley and Delta; this is the main contributor to food production, trading activities and the
national economy using available Nile water. With increasing demands for agricultural production,
new lands have been reclaimed and added to the old land.
Eastern Desert: the topographic features of the region east of the Nile are very different from those
of the Western Desert. The relatively mountainous Eastern Desert rises abruptly from the Nile and
extends over an area of approximately 220 000 km2. The upward-sloping plateau of sand gives way
within 100 km to arid, defoliated, rocky hills running north and south between the Sudan border and
the Delta. The hills reach elevations of more than 1 900 m. Except for a few villages on the Red Sea
coast, there are no permanent settlements. The importance of the Eastern Desert lies in its natural
resources, especially oil.
Nile Valley and Delta: although covering only about 5.5% (35 000 km2) of the total area of Egypt, this
is the most important region, supporting 99% of the population on its cultivated lands. The rich,
alluvial Nile valley, which extends approximately 800 km from Aswan to the outskirts of Cairo, is also
known as Upper Egypt while the Nile Delta which covers approximately 22 000 km2 is referred to as
Lower Egypt. Since construction of the Aswan Dam, agriculture in the Nile valley depends on irrigation.
The Nile delta (containing lakes Maryut, Idku, Burullus and Manzala) consists of flat, low-lying areas;
in parts it is marshy and water-logged, and thus not suitable for agriculture; other areas of the delta
are used for agriculture4.
2.4 Flora
Egypt flora comprises about 2121 species belonging to 121 families unevenly distributed over the
different agro ecological zones of the country. The highest species density is in the Mediterranean
coastal zone, the Nile Valley, Gebel Elba and the mountains of Sinai. The number of species in
proportion to the total surface area of the country is considered very small. This is evidently due to
the arid climatic conditions, where the annual rainfall nowhere exceeds 200 mm but is below 50 mm
in the greater part of Egypt.
Due to these climatic conditions, most vegetation of Egypt is concentrated primarily in Wadis and
depressions. Although most of the greater part of Egypt is Saharan in vegetation, the proportion of
Saharan plants is relatively small as compared to other phyto-geographical regions.
2.5 Fauna
The presence of various terristial and aquatic ecosystems in Egypt, (the arid and semi-arid areas, the
Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the River Nile, lakes, ponds and oases) create a suitable media for
more than 175000 species of living animals: from invertebrates to vertebrates and from aquatic to
terrestrial animals.
4
Mohamed EL NAHRAWY. Country pasture/forage resource profile
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Monograph of Egypt
For example, the herpitofauna includes 98 species of reptiles and 7 species of amphibian, out of which
51 species of lizards, 37 species of snakes, 8 species of turtles and one species of crocodilian.
Amphibians include 4 species of toads and 2 species of frogs and one species of tree frog. Mammals
detected until now are about 105 species and birds are about 515 species; out of which 200 species
are resident types and the others are migratory and about 200 species are considered as extinct.
Fresh water fish about 85 species; of which 22 species are the common but 49 species are rare and 14
species are considered as extinct6.
The continuous damage of the Egyptian fauna habitats had negative impact on the national wild life.
About 700 species out of 17000 species of the Egyptian fauna became endangered in the few last
years, for examples: Sinai Leopard, Nobain Ass, Barbary sheep, Addax antelope, Pharaonic Ipex, etc.
Some other species have been facing and suffering dramatic decline in numbers such as most of the
Egyptian reptiles and mammals. In this respect, most members of family Elapidae, which inhabit the
wet lands and south Sinai are going to be extinct since they are collected for medical purposes.
Testudo Gracea, T. kleinmanni, soft shell turtle, Red neck ostriches, Nubian ibex and Addax antelope
could be considered as endangered species.
2.6 Fishery resources
Egypt has a long coastline, extending for about 2 500 km, together with a continuous continental shelf
of about 53 000 km2 bordering the country on the north along the Mediterranean Sea coast and to
the east along the Red Sea, with the Suez and Aqaba Gulfs. Moreover, Egypt has various inland
resources, include the Nile River with many irrigation canals.
2.7 Mining resources
Egypt was a significant producer of cement, direct-reduced iron (DRI), and hydrocarbons in 2009. It
was the leading African country in petroleum products output, the second ranked producer of natural
gas in Africa after Algeria, and the fifth ranked producer of crude oil in Africa. Egypt was responsible
for 2.1% of the world’s total natural gas output and 0.9% of the world’s crude oil supply. Egypt was
the world’s 11th ranked cement producer and accounted for 1.5% of the world’s cement production.
The country was the world’s seventh ranked producer of DRI and accounted for 4.5% of the world’s
total production.
Additionally, Egypt produced aluminum, barite, basalt, bentonite, coke, construction sand and gravel,
dolomite, feldspar, ferroalloys, granite, gypsum, ilmenite, iron and steel, iron ore, kaolin, limestone,
manganese, marble, phosphate rock, quartz, salt, sandstone, secondary copper, silica sand, talc, and
vermiculite5.
2.8 Energy resources
Egypt’s electricity generating capacity at the end of 2013 was 27 GW, slightly higher than the daily
peak demand of 24 GW. Egypt generated almost 152 billion KWh of electricity in 2012, of which about
70% was fueled by natural gas, 20% from oil, and 10% from renewables, mostly hydropower
generation.
Hydropower is Egypt’s third-largest energy source after natural gas and oil. In 2012, Egypt generated
13.2 billion KWh of hydroelectricity, almost all of which came from the Aswan High Dam and the
Aswan Reservoir Dams across the Nile River.
Moreover, Egypt is the largest oil producer in Africa outside of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the second-largest natural gas producer on the continent, behind
5
Mowafa Taib (2011). The mineral industry of Egypt.
Octobre 2016
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Algeria. Egypt plays a vital role in international energy markets through the operation of the Suez
Canal and Suez Mediterranean (SUMED) Pipeline.
Egypt’s oil production comes from the Western Desert (51%), Gulf of Suez (20%), Eastern Desert (12%),
Sinai (10%), Mediterranean Sea (5%), Nile Delta (1%), and Upper Egypt (less than 1%)6.
3 Main environmental issues and challenges
3.1 Water Resources scarcity and pollution
It is an environmental issue that threatens the sustainability of the development of Egypt. As the
population grows, and the economy expands holding the amount of water constant, the problem of
fresh water availability intensifies. Protecting this limited amount of fresh water is crucial to sustain
the development of the nation. Lack of proper sanitation schemes in some of the human settlements,
particularly rural areas is another issue that needs intervention.
3.2 Air pollution:
it is another problem that affects major urban settlements, such as Cairo. The low quality of air results
from several sources, including inferior industrial production techniques that are not energy efficient
and are not environmentally sound; informal activities within human settlements, such as smelters
and solid waste dump sites; mobile sources on congested roads; and other natural environmental
hazards, such as dust and seasonal sand storms. The problem of air pollution has also extended to
some rural areas. The negative effect of substandard air quality affects the health and causes losses
to materials and monuments7.
3.3 Land degradation
Productive land resources in Egypt are under multiple pressures and factors leading to soil degradation
and prevent the sustainable development which secures a good quality for environment human
health. Main factors and operations leading to desertification and soil degradation are the following:




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7
The urban encroachment over the fertile agricultural lands with regional disparities and urban
primacy along with the spread of informal areas inside and on the fringes of cities;
The water logging and soil salinity due to poor water management in the domain of agriculture
which follows the conventional surface irrigation system;
Intensive agriculture and deficiency of fertility due to the lack of Nile alluvium with what it
carries of basic nutrient elements for vegetation after building the High Dam ;
Wind erosion is considered one of the important land desertification processes in areas
exceeding 90% of the state area in western desert, eastern desert and particularly Sinai. These
areas are characterized by a fragile ecosystem, scarcity of vegetation cover and severe
drought.
US Energy Information Administration: Country Analysis Brief: Egypt, 2014.
The National Environmental Action Plan of Egypt 2002/17
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4 Socio-economic activities
4.1 Agriculture:
It is a key sector for the Egyptian economy contributing to a sixth of GDP and employing 30% of the
active population. Due to limited fresh water resources and arable land in this desert country, the
useful agricultural area is 3,6Mha, which is 4% of the territory. Over 95% of the crop is irrigated. 30%
of this area comes from the desert lands development along the Nile Delta valley. The government's
goal is to reach an agricultural area of 4,2Mha by 2017 through an increase of additional land in North
Sinai.
The agricultural sector is dominated by cereal cultivation in Middle and Upper Egypt. Maize production
was estimated at 7,2Mt in 2013 and is mainly used for feeding animals; corn intended for human
consumption are still largely imported. Rice, main summer crop, occupied 460000ha in 2010 for a total
production of over 4,3Mt of which 0,5Mt were exported.
In 2010, the area occupied by the cotton cultivation has increased by 30% attending 155000ha and
passing production to 377 000 t of which 300 000 t were exported, the remainder being designed to
complement the 50000 t imported to the Egyptian textile industry.
Production is increasing for fruits and vegetables as part of the surfaces increase policy to cultivate by
2017. The production of fruit (oranges, watermelons, grapes, dates and bananas) and vegetables
(tomatoes essentially, potatoes, eggplant, onions) have reached 9,7Mt and 20,2Mt respectively in
20108.
4.2 Livestock
Livestock is limited by the weakness of plant resources for animal feed. It is characterized by the
predominance of poultry production. Total poultry meat production has reached 665000t in 2010,
while Egg production was estimated at 7,5Md units per year. An attempt to organize of the beef sector
allowed to reach a self-sufficiency in milk products (production of 5.7 million liters) and reduce meat
imports red (82% self-sufficiency).
Other animal production (5.5 million sheep, 4.1 million goats, 0.3 million camels) remain low
structured and unproductive. Egypt exported € 9 million live animals in 201010.
4.3 Fishing
The fishing industry in Egypt comprises sea fisheries (Mediterranean and Red Sea fisheries), which
account for 24% of total production, inland fisheries 61,5%, and aquaculture 14.5%9. In 2010, fishing
production reached while Aquaculture 670000t. However, consumption also increased, leaving the
large deficit sector: Exports in 2010 amounted to 20000t and imports 180000t10.
Fishing industry is important for the livelihood of over 65 000 fishermen and other people employed
full time in related activities (estimated at some 300 000 men)11.
4.4 Mining:
In 2009, the economic activity of the mining sector in Egypt was 14.9% of the country’s GDP compared
with 15.6% of the GDP in 2008 and 15.2% of the GDP in 2007.
8
Les politiques agricoles à travers le monde quelques exemples (http://agriculture.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/fichepays2014EGYPTE_cle04a6f6.pdf)
9 http://www.infosamak.org/french/documents/egypte.html?CFID=52469011&CFTOKEN=19468627
10
Les politiques agricoles à travers le monde quelques exemples
11
http://www.fao.org/fi/oldsite/FCP/en/EGY/profile.htm
Octobre 2016
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MENA-DELP Project
Monograph of Egypt
Construction and building activity increased by 20% in 2009 compared with 2008 because of large
infrastructure projects that were developed by the Government in the housing, public works, and
transportation sectors. Investment spending on natural gas projects increased by 41% and decreased
by 50% on crude oil production projects compared with that of 2008.
The mineral commodities for which production increased in 2009 compared with that of 2008 included
cement, crude oil, DRI, ferrosilicon, granite, gypsum, iron ore, limestone, manganese, natural gas,
phosphate rock, quartz, salt, sulfur, and vermiculite. Notable decreases in production compared with
their respective levels of production in 2008 included that of ammonia, coal, coke, crude steel,
dolomite, fluorspar, kaolin, lime, marble, pig iron, sandstone, total refined petroleum products, and
urea12.
4.5 Tourism
In 2009, Egypt is estimated to have accounted for almost 41% of North African travel and tourism
demand. The Egyptian tourism market grew very strongly in the early part of the past decade, with
tourist arrivals ballooning in 2003 and 2004, and visitors spending increasing amounts of time in the
country, leading to outstanding growth in international tourist nights and receipts, as well as improved
hotel occupancy levels and capacity, particularly in the Red Sea and South Sinai areas. Much of this
was thanks to a large fall in the value of the local currency during those years.
Tourism destinations in Egypt are divers: Beaches and Resorts (undersea life, with the closest coral
reefs to Europe located off the Sinai Peninsula in the Red Sea), Historical Sites (Abu Simbel, Aswan,
Luxor, the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, Roman ruins…), Religious Sites (St. Catherine’s Monastery
in the Sinai, the site of the Biblical burning bush and important mosques dating to the earliest days of
the Umayyid period..), Eco Sites (desert landscapes, oases, canyons and falls) and Health and
Rejuvenation (medical tourism location with the healthy and natural materials in Safaga and the luxury
of restorative oases at Siwa and Dakhla)13.
4.6 Industry
The Egyptian manufacturing sector is concentrated on quite a few industries. Seven industries account
for over 80% of establishments in the manufacturing sector. The three largest industries are textiles,
food and beverages, and furniture followed by non-metallic minerals, metal production, chemicals
and basic metals. The manufacturing sector is the keystone for economic and social development and
therefore, the Egyptian government looks at manufacturing as the key-player in increasing the growth
rate and improving the performance of quality and productivity of the industrial sector. Industry is the
dynamic engine for growth essential for rapid economic and social development. In 2000-2001,
manufacturing output represented more than 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employing
about 20% of the active labor power. Industrialization is also an effective mean for modernizing the
society. The industrial sector is a major growth driver having strong backward and forward linkages
with both the agriculture and services sectors. It is expected to play an instrumental role in
reinvigorating economic growth in the Egyptian economy over the medium and long terms14.
The geographical distribution of industrial enterprises varies from region to another. While 41% of the
industrial production is concentrated in Greater Cairo, Delta has 17%, Alexandria has 16.8% and finally
Canal Zone has 14.2% of the industrial production. That means that 89% of the industrial production
is located in Cairo and Northern regions, while 11% is in Upper Egypt15.
12
Mowafa Taib (2011). The mineral industry of Egypt
http://www.gafi.gov.eg/content/invsectorsdocs/TourismValueProposition.pdf
14
Egypt’s Industrial Development Strategy Industry: The Engine of Growth
15
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO): The Challenges of Sustainable
Industrial Development in Egypt
13
Octobre 2016
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