AECID - Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

Texto

Name: Egypt.

Area: 1,001,450 km2.

Mediterranean coastline: 900 Km.

Population (World Bank data): 63.8 million in 2000.

Annual population growth (World Bank data): 1.9 %.

Population distribution (World Bank data): 45% urban, 55% rural.

Human Development Index (2001 UNDP Report): 105 of 162.

Distribution by productive sectors (World Bank data): primary 16.6% of GDP, secondary 34% and tertiary 49.4%.

Access to potable water (2001 UNDP Report): 95%.

Annual per capita energy consumption (IUCN system): 861 Kw/hours.

Geographical description: Just one tenth of the country’s total area is built on or farmed - the Nile valley and delta, some oases and the land running along the Suez Canal. The remaining 90% is desert. The Nile enters Egypt from Sudan and flows 1,545 km north to the Mediterranean. From the Sudanese border to Cairo, the river runs through a narrow valley bordered by cliffs. From Idfu to Cairo, the valley widens to as much as 23 Km, with most of the cultivable land on the west bank. Close to the capital, the valley emerges onto the delta, a fan-shaped plane whose perimeter takes up 250 Km of Mediterranean coast. Sediment deposited by the tributaries make the delta the most fertile part of the country although the construction of the Aswan dam affected this input very seriously.

Climate: The climate features a hot season from May to September and cold from November to March. During both seasons, extreme temperatures are moderated by winds from the north. On the coast, average annual temperatures range between a maximum of 37ºC and a minimum of 14ºC. The great variations arise in the deserts, with a daily maximum of 46ºC and a minimum 6ºC at night. In winter, night-time temperatures drop to 0ºC. The Mediterranean coast is the wettest zone, with annual average rainfall of 200 mm. Precipitation falls off rapidly toward the south: the annual average in Cairo is 26mm, and in many parts of the desert it may rain just once in several years.


Natural resources: Egypt has a great variety of mineral deposits of which some, like gold and red granite, have been exploited since Antiquity. The most valued mineral resource is now oil, mainly in the Red Sea coastal area, at Al ‘Alamayn on the Mediterranean, and on the Sinai peninsula. Phosphates, manganese, iron, uranium and natural gas are also extracted.

Main environmental problems: The main questions are the quality and quantity of water, urban growth, soil loss, air pollution and the environmental effects of tourism, some of which are an obstacle to the drive for the country’s economic and social development.

Most of Egypt’s water is taken from the Nile. The quality of this water is under serious threat from untreated industrial and agricultural waste, and waste water. Moreover, the Aswan Dam, completed in 1970, reduced the Nile’s flow, retaining the nutritional sediments which had fertilised the country’s farmland. The delta is decreasing in size because of the reduced amount of sediment deposited there, and because of coastal erosion from the sea, which is threatening the lagoons, important sources of fishing. To offset sediment loss, farmers are forced to use more chemical fertilizer which, along with herbicides and pesticides, contribute to the water pollution.

The size and rapid growth of Egypt’s population has also led to environmental problems. Expansion of urban areas on to farmland affects the already limited land for cultivation on the Nile delta and in the valley. Attempts to limit this pressure by creating satellite cities in the desert have been only partially successful because of the difficulty of attracting population and industries into these inhospitable environments. A feature of densely populated urban areas like Cairo, Alexandria, Al Minya and Aswan is the poor air quality, aggravated by a laxity in the enforcement of measures to reduce industrial and vehicle emissions. Oil pollution is intense along the whole Mediterranean coast.

Tourism is a major source of income for Egypt’s economic growth. However, construction and limited controls on waste collection in the new tourist centres along the eastern coast have seriously degraded Red Sea water quality. Moreover, tourist concentrations are a threat to the fragile desert zones and to the marine corals along the coast.

None of Egypt’s environmental problems is unsolvable. Attempts are already under way to deal with these matters, such as a proposal to create natural parks in the Sinai region.