Egypt Nile Nature
The Nile has provided Egypt with more water than it needs for millennia. The demand for water increased in tandem with the growth of the population and the economy. Here we study the Egypt Nile Nature and we give a detailed analysis of how overall water demand outstripped Nile water supply in the late 1970s, progressing from a surplus of approximately 20 km3 per year in the 1960s to a deficit of around 40 km3 per year in the late 2010s. Virtual water is imported to fill the void.
Based on a detailed analysis of water consumption by agriculture and other sectors, the significance of economic growth in boosting per capita water demand is quantified. We design and evaluate an empirical model of water demand in Egypt that links water demand to economic and population growth rates. Looking ahead, we estimate that, under nominal population and economic development scenarios, Egypt will import more virtual water than it receives from the Nile by the 2020s, calling into doubt the historical definition of Egypt as “the gift of the Nile.”
The Socio Economic Calculus of the Aswan High Dam Impact: A Legacy of Trade offs
Completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970 stands as the greatest single human intervention on the Egypt Nile, the very alteration of the river and hydrographic and economic base of the country, by and large irreversibly, but with a complex set of trade offs still discussed between specialists in engineering, agriculture, and archaeology. The dam created Lake Nasser, one of the largest man made reservoirs of the world, which gave Egypt its strategic water reserve to shift away from an uncertain basin irrigation system towards a reliable system of perennial irrigation. This stability actually led to increased national agricultural productivity since farmers could now grow crops several times in a year by ensuring a steady flow of water onto the fields, thereby providing employment and earning much needed foreign exchange from cash crops like cotton. With the hydroelectric capacity of over 2,100 MW, it sped the industrialization and electrification program of Egypt from bumps right down to powering a great number of rural villages for the first time. The economic benefits immediately after completing the project were said to be so highly favorable that the full cost of the project might have been recovered in another few years. Yet the very revolutionary control came with a big price: the rich alluvial silt that used to get deposited over the floodplains every year as a natural fertilizer is now trapped behind the 111-meter-high embankment, compelling Egyptian agriculture to go in for expensive artificial chemical fertilizers, which not only cost annually but also pose an environmental hazard. Additionally, stabilization of water level and lack of a land-cutting natural flood have increased the salinity of the northern delta soils and aggravated coastal erosion, as natural sediments required to replenish the delta landmass were discontinued. The Nile building decision chose to show a track of national pride, with food and power for a burgeoning population, but simultaneously set in motion an ever-continuing struggle with environmental disappearance and the consequent necessity for man induced solutions, from building coastal defense blocks to mitigating extensive drainage schemes an upside down perspective of Aswan High Dam Impact.
Egyptian Nile River
Five millennia were given to The ancient Egyptians to work out a distinct material culture that, in the great part, was shaped by their local terrain, natural resources, and connection to the Nile River . Around 500 B. C., the Greek historian Herodotus said, “Any discerning person would perceive Lower Egypt (that is the Nile Delta ) to be a gift of the river” (Herodotus, 2.5). Though his comment limited itself to the northernmost part and the Nile Delta; such statements are amenable in the entire the Nile River Valley . The Nile provided food and raw materials, land for agriculture, and transportation, while also being instrumental in transporting materials for the building of the pyramids and other large-scale projects in Egypt. Shame on it for keeping just about the desert alive!
The name of the Nile River has been derived from the Greek word Nelios, whereas the Egyptians called it Iteru or “River.”
Geopolitics and the Existential Threat to Egypt’s Water Security in the 21st Century
In the current policy scenarios, the Nile is no more regarded as a simple domestic resource for Egypt but, rather, it has become a vector and the actual jugular of regional geopolitics, with Egypt’s Water Security being the basis of its national defense strategy. More than 97% of the freshwater supply to Egypt comes from the exterior of its political boundaries, mostly by virtue of the Blue Nile through the Ethiopian highlands. So in the light of development upstream, the country is facing a challenge unprecedented in nature. The building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a tectonic shift in the balance of power in the region and challenges the historic division of water by Egypt and Sudan in 1959 through the Nile Waters Agreement. To Ethiopia, GERD is a development conduit and a symbol of sovereignty that will generate hydroelectric power to lift millions out of poverty. For Egypt, the main concern is the impounding of downstream water by GERD, more so in particular during prolonged dry spells which are a natural feature of the climate of the Nile Basin. Fast filling of the huge reservoir of GERD or in toll low-volume releases during a dry spell over the region would heavily undermine water storage in Lake Nasser, threatening the very continuance of irrigation systems that irrigate nearly one hundred million Egyptians. The jeopardy to Egyptian comity, hence, compels Egypt to carve out a strategic path for water security and invest billions inside the country on strengthening domestic resilience through large wastewater treatment and recycling plants (e.g., Al Mahsama and Bahr Al-Baqar treatment plants) that reclaim agricultural drainage water for reuse; on setting highly efficient desalination plants on the coasts; and on speeding up drip irrigation project implementation that will replace wasteful flood irrigation. However, Egypt insists that a legally binding coordinated operation framework on GERD must be the non-negotiable prerequisite for the stable long-term flow of the Egypt Nile and consequently for the welfare and security of the region as a whole.
The Nile River’s present name derives from the Greek word Nelios, although the Egyptians called it Iteru, which means “River.” With a length of 6,825 kilometres, the Nile is the world’s longest river. The White Nile, Blue Nile, and Atbara rivers are the three primary branches of the Nile River System. The river’s sources, Lake Victoria and Lake Albert, feed into the White Nile. The Blue Nile causes the annual flood and supplies the majority of the river’s water and silt. The Atbara river has a smaller impact because it only flows once in a while.
The Nile contains a series of six main cataracts in the south, which begin at Aswan. A cataract is a narrow swath of turbulence generated when flowing water collides with refractory rock layers. Large outcroppings of granite in the Nile cataracts make the river’s flow erratic and much more difficult to navigate by boat. At Aswan, the cataract system provided a natural border between Egypt and its southern neighbor, Nubia.
The Delta of Egypt
The Delta, the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert, and the Nile Valley were the four geographic regions of northeast Africa ancient Egypt. Each of these geographic zones has its own natural environment and political significance in Egypt. Cities can largely thrive in the Nile Delta area, the Nile Valley, and the desert oases as the people have access to water, land, and other associated resources.
Kemet, or “black land,” refers to the infertile terrain of the Nile Valley, whereas Deshret, or “red land,” indicates the hot, barren desert. The red and black lands had more than a physical or geographic distinction; they affected the Egyptian way of life as well. To give an illustration, the desert environment promoted making it a “best place” for cemeteries. Tombs never damaged by the annually flooding Nile; on the contrary, the dry climate kept the tombs and contents in great condition. So much of what is examined by archaeologists and anthropologists has its source
The Nile Delta by camilo g. r.
Kemet, or “black land,” refers to the infertile terrain of the Nile Valley, whereas Deshret, or “red land,” indicates the hot, barren desert. The red and black lands had more than a physical or geographic distinction; they affected the Egyptian way of life as well. To give an illustration, the desert environment promoted making it a “best place” for cemeteries. Tombs never damaged by the annually flooding Nile; on the contrary, the dry climate kept the tombs and contents in great condition. So much of what is examined by archaeologists and anthropologists has its source you can check on daily life.
Upper and Lower Egypt and Nile Nature
Upper and Lower Egypt and Nile-ness The scenery is different in Upper and Lower Egypt. Tawy is an Egyptian term meaning “Two Lands” and is used to identify Egypt’s two major traditional areas, Upper and Lower Egypt. The name Lower Egypt farthest north constitutes the Nile Delta, while Upper Egypt lies to the south. Such seeming contradiction of their directions may indeed actually represent the fact that the Nile flows from the southern direction toward the north
Egyptian civilization along the wide Nile Delta floodplain differed from those along the narrow strip of arable lands of the Nile Valley. Towns and cemeteries were created in the Delta on turtlebacks or natural highpoints in the landscape that end up becoming islands during ocean inundation. Besides, the Delta has been an important area for trade relations with the outside world as it lies adjacent to the Mediterranean and marks the entry into the Levant. Given this, the Delta has always been a multicultural area during the history of Egypt.
