Holistic Assessment of the Egyptian National Land Reclamation Project from the view of IWRM Service Unavailable

Agriculture is the primary sector and central component of the Egyptian economy. The Agriculture economy's early estimates are about ۱۷% of overall GDP and ۲۰% total exports, as well as, accommodating around ۳۰% - ۴۰% of the labor force. Under the ۱st Priority Land Reclamation Projects of the New Land development in Egypt, it is planned to reclaim ۱.۵ million feddans of agricultural land in nine reclamation areas in the Western Desert, mainly irrigated on groundwater. In this paper, the project is assessed in terms of groundwater occurrence, environmental screening, and economic sustainability with the rules of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is applied. The review highlights that the literature on groundwater withdrawal and use from all aquifers as a whole is significantly outdated, and might not represent the actual conditions of the groundwater occurrence and regime currently prevailing. Concurrently, updated information on monitoring groundwater levels and quality are not easily accessible, making it difficult for assessing long-term trends on groundwater dynamics, reserves, and quality. Finally, the paper presents an excel based model for optimal crop pattern selection in response to water different water quantities and qualities. The used model is named the "Water Allocation Model for computing optimal crop patterns on water or "AFWAM". In general, implementing the project is financially feasible, the project is expected to have a direct, positive social impact. Toshka site is the optimal choice for intervention early due to low initial investment costs. Still, the project is feasible in all proposed areas.Agriculture is the primary sector and central component of the Egyptian economy. The Agriculture economy's early estimates are about ۱۷% of overall GDP and ۲۰% total exports, as well as, accommodating around ۳۰% - ۴۰% of the labor force. Under the ۱st Priority Land Reclamation Projects of the New Land development in Egypt, it is planned to reclaim ۱.۵ million feddans of agricultural land in nine reclamation areas in the Western Desert, mainly irrigated on groundwater. In this paper, the project is assessed in terms of groundwater occurrence, environmental screening, and economic sustainability with the rules of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is applied. The review highlights that the literature on groundwater withdrawal and use from all aquifers as a whole is significantly outdated, and might not represent the actual conditions of the groundwater occurrence and regime currently prevailing. Concurrently, updated information on monitoring groundwater levels and quality are not easily accessible, making it difficult for assessing long-term trends on groundwater dynamics, reserves, and quality. Finally, the paper presents an excel based model for optimal crop pattern selection in response to water different water quantities and qualities. The used model is named the "Water Allocation Model for computing optimal crop patterns on water or "AFWAM". In general, implementing the project is financially feasible, the project is expected to have a direct, positive social impact. Toshka site is the optimal choice for intervention early due to low initial investment costs. Still, the project is feasible in all proposed areas.

Keywords:

Land Reclamation , IWRM , Groundwater Management , Crop productivity