€31 million grant allocated to support plan to adapt to climate change

CAIRO – 12 March 2019: Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad announced a national plan for adaptation to climate change and protection of coastal areas.

She noted that a European grant of €31million was allocated for the protection and construction of dams in the North Delta.

This came during a visit by Fouad on Sunday to Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, accompanied by Ambassador of the European Union to Egypt Ivan Surkos,and Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Paul Garner, as well as a delegation of development partners from the European Union, and other German officials.

For his part, Ismail Abdel Hamid Taha, governor of Kafr El-Sheikh, announced launching a national plan for the protection of coasts, adding that a system to protect the governorate's coasts started to be established along 27 km on the coastline, with a cost of LE 250 million ($14.36 million).

He stressed that Delta is secured against climate change.

The Egyptian General Authority for Coast Protection is set to implement several protection projects on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea to protect them from the adverse effects of climate change.

Protection projects should be implemented to some beaches in five different governorates that are believed to be threatened by climate change. The projects aim to enhance the beaches' adaptation to the effects of climate change on the northern coasts and the Nile Delta.

The projects are set to be implemented in a 27 kilometer area between Burullus power station and Kafr El-Sheikh Industrial Zone; in addition to a 12 kilometer area in Dakahlia governorate, northeast of Cairo.

Similar projects will also be implemented in a 12 kilometer area in the west of New Damietta, in a 12 kilometer area in Port Said, and in a 6 kilometer area in Beheira governorate.

The Egyptian government headed by Mostafa Madbouli along with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed a climate change adaptation project in October, aiming to protect the Egyptian Northern coastal line.

At a press conference following the signing ceremony, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati said the project will be funded by the green climate fund with a sum of $31.5 million to carry out protection works at the North Delta governorates. He said this grant is the biggest of its kind to be received by Egypt in the field of adaptation to climate change.

He added that the project aims at limiting the impact of coastal floods in five governorates including Port Said, Damietta, Dakahlia, Kafr al-Sheikh and Beheira as a result of the rise in sea levels.