Assessing the Impacts of Agricultural Water Management on Ecosystem Services in the Nile Delta

Abstract

Egypt suffers from water scarcity and farmers are often forced to use alternative water resources including recycled and untreated wastewater with elevated levels of non-point source pollutants. However, continued use of poor quality water reduces land and water productivity and threatens the health of the overall ecosystem. The rising demand for water is also reflected through increased competition among different water users including agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, recreation, tourism, horticulture, etc, in addition to demands of drinking water and industry. Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of water in Egypt. Hence any improvement in agricultural water management will result in reduced demand in the sector and free up a highly demanded and scarce resource for use by other sectors.