CAIRO, June 18, 2018 (MENA) - Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati said a Nile Delta protection project includes outlining an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZM) and establishing a detection system to monitor the impact of climate change along the Mediterranean shores. In statements on Monday, Abdel Aati said the project is being implemented in cooperation with the Green Climate Fund (GCF), an affiliate of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), to maintain stability of the coastal zones and raise the efficiency of protection facilities. The project, titled "Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation in the North Coast of Egypt", will be implemented by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation over seven years, said the minister. The project will be centred around constructing dikes to protect low-lying areas from flooding from the Mediterranean Sea as sea levels rise. The project received approval during the GCF's 18th board meeting in Cairo last year. The minister said he discussed with the project's executive director Mohamed Ahmed the possibility of starting the preparatory phase for implementing the project after Eid al-Fitr vacation. Meanwhile, Head of the Shores Protection Authority Mahmoud el Saadi said the GCF's fund is the biggest grant Egypt has obtained to help adapt to climate change. Egypt's Irrigation Ministry will contribute LE140 million to the project, which is centred around the construction of dikes to prevent flooding of homes and farmland due to rising sea levels and extreme weather as a result of climate change. The project aims to protect densely populated low-lying lands in the Nile Delta - which is home to 25 percent of the Egyptian population, which has been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change induced Sea-Level Rise (SLR). The project will also support the development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZM) for the North Coast of Egypt that links the plan for shore protection from SLR with the national development plan of the coastal zones. Some scientists have predicted that Egypt will suffer environmental calamities as a result of climate change, with the Nile Delta particularly at risk from flooding by the Mediterranean Sea. According to the UN Development Programe (UNDP), rising sea levels will have a critical impact on Egypt's infrastructure and development along the low-lying coastal areas, eventually having an impact on Egypt's entire economy.
