Sustainable Development of Wadi Halq El-Dabaa, Northern Western Coastal Zone (NWCZ), Egypt, By Mohamed Abbas, Mohamed Deraz, Ehab Genad, Hytham El-Daghstani, Mostafa El-Ghazawy, Asmaa Shata, Ahmed Youssef, Naeem Moslhy, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. Sustainable Development of Wadi Halq El-Dabaa, Northern Western
Coastal Zone (NWCZ), Egypt
Mohamed Abbas1, Mohamed Deraz1, Ehab Genad2, Hytham ElDaghstani2, Mostafa El-Ghazawy1, Asmaa Shata1, Ahmed Youssef1,
Naeem Moslhy1
1
2
: DRC
: ACSAD
Introduction:
In the last decades the Northern Western Coastal Zone (NWCZ) of Egypt
suffered from the shortage in the natural resources due to the lack of rainfall which is
considered as the main source for development in such area. This rainfed area is
greater than 15000km2 extending about 300km from Fouka in the east to El-Saloum
in the west with a distance of 40-70km from the coast to the south. This area is
considered as an arid region, where the average annual rainfall is less than 150mm.
This made a stress in the natural resources which became not enough for the
living of about 340000 persons in such area.
Although a great efforts were done through different local and international
agencies, the developed wadis along the NWCZ were not exceeded 25% from the
total numbers (218 wadis). Also, the water harvesting is only about 18% of the runoff
and the rest wast lost towards the sea.
Accordingly, The Desert Research Center (DRC) and the Arab Center for the
Arab Center for the studies of Arid zones and Dry lands (ACSAD) made a protocol to
carry out a project funded from ACSAD to develop wadi Halq El-Dabaa.
Objectives:
The main objectives of this project are:
- Surveying the natural resources of the area to plan how to manage them and
increase the benefits for the Bedouin communities.
- The sustainable development through the integration studies for these
resources.
- The management of the water resources the water harvesting and finding out
the potentiality of the groundwater as an additional water recourses for
supplemental irrigation.
- Management and increase the density of the natural vegetation for feeding the
animals as well as planting new species that have high tolerance for saline
groundwater.
- Increasing the production of the crops and orchards.
Methodologies:
Through this project an integrated studies were carried out. These are:

2. -
Studying water harvesting and groundwater exploration through geological,
geophysical studies to drill new water wells.
Soil survey to produce the soil suitability map.
Socio-economic studies to estimate the distribution of the communities and
determining their needing.
Outputs:
According to the integrated studies the following outcomes have been
acquired:
- Drilling of three wells for supplemental irrigation having salinity ranges
between 2000ppm and 6000ppm.
- Drilling one cistern for storing the water from the rainfall.
- Rehabilitation of the existed dams and construct new dams for management
the runoff and increase the cultivated areas.
- Production of transplant of tolerant plants for the droughts through the seeding
from ACSAD, such as Atriplex.
- Planting of transplants of Figs, Pistachio (Peanut) and Almond from ACSAD.
- Constructing guiding farms from Orchards that come from ACSAD.
- Planting of watermelon and cucumber in between the orchards.
- Applying the contouring cultivation as a method for water harvesting and
planting the parley between the contour lines.
- Monitoring and follow up the infection of the orchards by any deceases.
Benefits and learning lessons:
The learning lessons are at three levels:
1-The institutional level: where ACSAD transfer the technology and some plant
species that tolerance the drought and the saline water. This can be transfer along the
North Africa countries that have the same problem of decreasing the rain fall.
2-The National level:
- The project helped the action plan for the cultivation in Egypt which focusing
in increasing the land productivity and increase the efficiency of the water
resources as well as the water conservation.
- The project building some guiding farms for some orchards and carrying out
the demand training for the farmers.
- The applying of the contouring cultivation which considered a way to water
harvesting which increase the productivity.
- Submitting the needed transplant of orchards for the farmers.
- Creating a model for the sustainable development through the integrated
activities and cultivates new species from orchards.
- Increasing the efficiency of the water, soil and human resources which helped
in the increasing the income of the people.
- This model can be applied at the different wadis along the NWCZ of Egypt.