WATER KNOWLEDGE NOTE Egypt Pioneering Participatory Integrated Water Resources Management in the Nile Delta The World Bank’s Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Trust Fund financed a project centered on piloting participatory Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Nile Delta. The Enhanced Water Resources Management Project resulted in improved surface and groundwater management. From the project start in 2011 to the project closure in 2016, 4,436 people were trained on pilot schemes. In addition, due to the reduction of water used by applying the system of rice intensification, water savings reached 8,500 cubic meters/feddan/year (a feddan is defined as an Egyptian unit of area equivalent to 1.038 acres or 0.42 ha). © Shaimaa Ahmed Saleh Challenge Approach Water scarcity has long been a central problem in Egypt. The The World Bank helped the Government of Egypt combination of increasing socioeconomic demands, physical to tackle these water challenges in a sustainable and water scarcity, and competing transboundary needs spells comprehensive way. Encompassing the requirements further trouble for the country’s water supply and sanitation of multiple water users, institutions, and groups, the sector. Meeting the needs of multiple water users further strains project was designed to enhance the knowledge and relatively fixed water resources in Egypt. The ongoing impacts of capacity of water sector institutions for IWRM. Through a changing climate also include reduced precipitation, increased funding and technical assistance, the project established temperatures, and even changes in the direction of the Nile flow. the basis for scaling up investments to improve pollution control and to improve the ecosystem health of the The country relies on the Nile River, which provides 98% of Mediterranean Sea. the annual renewable water resources. The river runs through eleven countries, and the Nile’s journey ultimately ends The Enhanced Water Resources Management Project when it spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. addressed constraints to Egypt’s sustainable development This means that it is not only critical to protect and clean the with the following water quality and pollution control Nile waters for the sake of Egyptian water security, but also measures: (i) capacity building for surface water and to protect the ecosystem health of the Mediterranean Sea. groundwater management and monitoring; (ii) piloting schemes that develop synergy between ongoing water In addition, agriculture uses about 85% of the available sector projects through demonstration activities; freshwater resources in Egypt and irrigation water quality is (iii)  improving rural sanitation and drainage water a critical concern. Most agricultural land is heavily irrigated quality; and (iv) establishing a results based monitoring and polluted by industrial effluent and untreated sewage, and evaluation system for reporting and disseminating which are typically dumped into open drains. lessons learned on IWRM. © Jtriefen WATER GLOBAL PRACTICE | EGYPT 2 © Dennis Sylvester Hurd Results • Nine government documents were issued for IWRM policies, procedures, and implementation; The Project raised the quality of water management in • Enhanced water quality through the establishment Egypt by not just improving surface and groundwater of 250 water quality monitoring stations for surface management, but also by strengthening capacity building water; and participation. • A climate change impact assessment in water and The following key results were observed during the life of agriculture was conducted and hardware was installed, the project: including 10 weather stations; • The data generated by the Climate Change Laboratory • Better informed groundwater development through and the Nile Forecasting Center enabled the the creation and submission of a groundwater government authorities to respond faster when storms development strategy and action plan; hit coastal cities in 2015 and 2016 to reduce loss of • By applying the system of rice intensification, water life and property damage; savings per feddan was reduced to 8,500 cubic meters/ • An instream wetland facility was constructed by the feddan/year; Egyptian Public Authority for Drainage for reducing • Strengthened water sector institutions through biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total knowledge and capacity building activities that dissolved solids (TDS) in treated water, and BOD was included the training of 4,436 people; reduced to 30 mg/L. • A Geographic Information System (GIS) platform was put in place as targeted and 6 staff members of the Bank Group Contribution Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation were trained; • Rural communities dependent on irrigated agriculture The Global Environment Facility (GEF) provided the Arab greatly benefitted from improved water quality and Republic of Egypt with grants in the amount of US$6.6 million access and better health outcomes; towards the total project cost of US$8.27 million. The project WATER GLOBAL PRACTICE | EGYPT 3 activities build upon other Bank-financed projects in Egypt had a positive effect on water quality and health outcomes. such as the Integrated Irrigation and Management Project In addition, the project increased farmer incomes and (IIMP), the Second National Drainage Project (NDP2) and economic opportunities due to improved access to safe and the Integrated Sanitation and Sewerage Project (ISSIP). reliable fresh water sources. Partners Farmer based Water User Associations (WUAs) also particularly benefitted from project activities through The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation served as a training and enhanced participatory management, from key partner in this project. Six other government agencies decision making to service provision awareness. were involved in project implementation, including the Planning Sector, the National Water Resources Center, the Groundwater Sector, and the Irrigation Improvement Moving Forward Sector. The Government of Egypt demonstrated strong commitment to the project and is well positioned to In addition to the World Bank funding, there was parallel continue further cross sectoral interventions. After financing for complementary activities from the German project completion, there is considerable potential for the Development Bank (KfW), African Development Bank development and implementation of additional capacity (AfD), the Islamic Development Bank, and the Organization building activities by the Project. To maintain momentum of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund. toward water sustainability, further financial support from Beneficiaries the Green Climate Fund may be secured to expand the Climate Change Lab and the Climate Research Institute. Rural communities located in the Nile Delta region who are In addition, the model packages for surface water and dependent on irrigated agriculture benefitted greatly from groundwater modeling, research, and analysis need to be the project. By improving IWRM, the project interventions continuously updated to improve Egypt’s water situation. Connect with the Water Global Practice www.worldbank.org/water worldbankwater@worldbank.org   @worldbankwater blogs.worldbank.org/water © 2019 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. Some rights reserved. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. This work is subject to a CC BY 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo). 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