Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous nation and less than 3% of its territory is arable land, most of which is rich farmland of the Nile Delta, the breadbasket of the country, a fertile coastal zone most vulnerable to sea level rise due to its low elevation and local land subsistence. As a result of changing environmental conditions in the past decades, many beaches along Egypt’s northern coast have receded or, as is the case of Alexandria, have even disappeared. While measures have been taken to slow coastal erosion, such as constructing breakwaters along the seafront, scientists and researchers maintain that it is too late to prevent or reverse the encroachment of the sea, and the rise of the water table. Planning must focus on ‘adaptation’ and damage limitation.

TALK: How Climate Change has affected Rural areas and Agricultural Practices since the early 20th Century: Sea level rise, Water intrusion, & Salinated soil

At the Urban Foodshed, Dr. Soliman addressed issues of how climate change are causing the Mediterranean Sea’s waters to rise, thus affecting vegetation and farming along the northern coast of Egypt. These environmental threats are endangering water resources, agricultural activity and the coastal population. He discussed how agricultural practices of local farmers in the low-lying Delta agricultural lands have been changing since the since the early 20th Century as a result of saltwater intrusion (saline water seeping into underground waters) into the delta; as the Mediterranean rises, the saltwater pushes into the delta and the salt leaches into the soil. This has resulted in salinated soil, and evapotranspiration has also led to salt accumulation in the top soil. This has degraded farmland and cut production. Moreover, as farmers have had to adapt in this low-lying and food-producing Nile Delta, there has also been an overuse of sand from the coastal dunes formed by sediment discharge - which traditionally had served as a protective belt. Dr. Soliman explained why there is an urgent need today for coastal adaptation to sea level rise, and the preservation of the remaining eroding dunes which have been facing erosion since the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s.

At the Roundtable Talks of the “Commoning Cities” Exhibition of the Seoul Biennale held at the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza, discussing challenges faced by the the city of Alexandria, the Egyptian coastal area, and introducing the topics behind our “Alexandria City” project presented within this exhibition.

Talk: The Food Price Crisis in Egypt; Food Safety, Security & Defense: Protecting the food chain

Dr. Soliman also addressed the current food crisis in Egypt where food prices have been going up 38.6% annually. Egyptians experiencing severe food insecurity is represented in the rising prices even for government-subsidized “balady” bread, but also for other foods such as sugar, cooking oil, and other commodities in a country where more than 40% of its 80 million people live on just $2 a day, and almost 20% get by on daily income of just $1. According to the United Nations' FAO, 37 countries face a severe crisis over food, and Egypt ranks third place among Arab countries on the Global Hunger Index for 2016. Dr. Soliman also gave some insight from his area of expertise, on protecting the food chain, food safety and security through a discussion of soil toxicology in the environment and pesticides risk assessment in food production.

Read more about the current environmental challenges faced by Egypt →

Read about all the other contributions by Dr. Salah A. Soliman within our EM/MENA regional projects →