The climate change could have devastating effects on Egypt, World Bank is saying. Because the water level of the Mediterranean Sea rises, huge parts of the fertile Nile delta are threatened. In a long term it could be possible that also the sandy beaches will disappear, thanks to which thousands of tourists come to the country every year.

Mohamed el Raej, environmental scientist of the World Bank, says that every delay will cause further damage.
More than one third of the country's population lives in the threatened delta. It is there where almost half of the country's agricultural products are cultivated.
The delta of the Nile expanses only 2.5% of Egypt, and is already in danger because of the construction of the Aswan dam. The Aswan dam, finished in 1970, is preventing sediments from being washed into the estuary mouth to accumulate there, like it has been happening for thousands of years.
Now there is no natural counterbalance left to prevent the erosion of the shore, and this could worsen the consequences of a rising sea level.

The dam changed the fragile eco system, says the shore scientist Omran Frihi in Alexandria. If the Mediterranean Sea level rises about 30 cm up to one meter like predicted, one third of the delta will be flooded.

No debate on the subject

It is possible that by 2100, the sandy beaches that attract thousands of tourists every year will have disappeared. Also in danger are the archeological treasures of ancient Alexandria, who are not yet fully discovered.

If the sea level rises about one meter, ten per cent of Egypt's population would have to be resettled. Already today 1540 persons live on one square kilometer in the delta, and until the end of the century it is predictable that the total population of the country will double up to 160 million people. Even areas that won't be flooded could be affected through the infiltration of salt water into the ground water.

Like almost nowhere in Africa, also here the climate change is not been discussed openly, but this could change soon. The government in Cairo is preparing a national strategy survey, to show ways of adaptation to the climate change. That is what environment Minister Maged George announced. In Alexandria the authorities are investing around 220 million Euro, to save the beaches with concrete barriers, Frihi is saying. At some places sand is been heaped up.

The climate scientist Mohamed Al Shahawi from the Environment Authority of Egypt explains, the government was making a list of the areas the most in danger. "Egypt tries to save its shores", he explains, "We will ask the world for help. We have to protect ourselves. But it is very expensive."

  * Published in Der Spiegel on 2 September 2007 available in German on http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,503416,00.html