Marsa Matrouh is an arid area in Egypt with an average annual rainfall of 140 mm and annual temperature of 20.6o C. Only the northern areas have potential for agricultural, while the south is deserted. In the north there are many wadies where crops could be grown if managed properly. MARSADEV project was able to show this (Google: MARSADEV). In a period of 3 years the project reclaimed 13 ha of highly eroded soils turning them into a “garden in the desert” through land reclamation actions and drought control. Results were stunning: in 2017 even at the end of the hot summer season 50,000 m3 were stored showing a perfect example of drought resilience. These positive effects are continuing.
Background
Wadi Kharrouba was an abandoned watershed heavily eroded without a single plant on it. Given that areas where farming could be practiced in the Matrouh Governorate are extremely limited, converting eroded lands into productive farming is the best option. MARSADEV (2013-2017) project proved that this is possible by endorsing an ecosystem-based approach that involved land reclamation actions supported by local Bedouin communities. The sandy clay loam soil texture in the wadi was a good indicator for soil health and for enhanced water storage capacity. The project paid attention not only to the wadies’ lower flatlands but also to the slopes, that on the contrary are mostly covered by thin soils frequently associated with rock outcrops. Numerous local drought resistant plants were planted in those areas to provide both erosion control on slopes and vegetation coverage used for grazing. All sorts of drought resistant plants were planted inside semi-circle terraces built with local stones. It should be noted that rainfall in the deserts is erratic and torrential; hence every single drop of rain should be stored either into the soil or in cisterns and reservoirs. To this end, gullies must be levelled, and check dams be established to control water flow, so that erosion could be also controlled. Intensive topographic and soil surveys provided the needed data for implementing land reclamation actions. Harvesting water into the wadi basins allows crop growth and thus can change desert to an agricultural ecosystem. However, these wadis are very fragile ecosystems whose stabilization is obviously a function of water availability, which in turn may vary considerably due to the large variation in wadi run‐off from year to year and season to season. Data reported in this study were peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal. Modelling was also used for the unsaturated soil water flow that may be effectively used for predicting the amount of water stored in the wadi’s bed profile and thus available to sustain the root uptake of crops during the spring–summer seasons. In terms of water potential, this study provided indications of the time during which plants experience water stress and suggested measures to be adopted to reduce water losses by soil surface evaporation. The involvement of local communities from the very start of the project proved extremely useful and highly beneficial. It is a very successful story that inspired IFAD and the Government of Egypt a few years later to decide to invest more that 170 million USD to replicate these excellent results in many other abandoned wadis spread throughout the Matrouh Governorate.
Actions taken
The Matrouh Governorate is unique especially from the socio-economic perspective. Large parts of the territory are inhabited by Bedouin communities that have their own traditions and way of life. Worth noting that they have changed from nomads to farmers over the last 50 years, therefore experience in farming is rather limited. For an international rural development project to be successful the first step is to establish close contacts with these communities. MARSADEV put this as a priority. Despite the project had numerous aspects to address, from gender to IPM and organic farming, we report here the land reclamation actions taken to promote water harvesting and drought management. To this end, the eroded and abandoned wadi Kharrouba was selected covering an area of about 13 hectares. Under the leadership of the project management team composed from Italian and Egyptian experts of the Desert Research Center, the first step was to discuss the plan with local tribe leaders and agree on the subdivision of the newly reclaimed land ready for farming. The major objectives were: 1. Raclaim farmland, 2. Establish cisterns for water harvesting, 3. Design a supplementary irrigation system for the areas covered by cisterns, 4. Establish check dams and divide land in well-designed parcels, having a slope of 2 %, 5. Erosion control, both inside the wadi’s bottom land as well as on the slopes, 6. Establish semi-circle terraces on the surrounding slopes and populate them with local drought resistant plants. All these objectives were consulted and agreed upon with Bedouin tribe leaders. The whole project implementation was conducted in close collaboration with all stakeholders, including technicians, a company specialized in land reclamation, specialists of the Desert Research Center of Egypt as well as Italian experts from CIHEAM Bari. It is worth mentioning that during the one-year project implementation all worked very well according to the plans and no unforeseen risks or issues arised. Today wadi Kharrouba is also a place for experimentation and research, only from CIHEAM Bari 3 Master thesis and one PhD thesis have been successfully completed. All actions were based on an action plan carefully designed that considered technical and socio-economic aspects. Based on traditional knowledge on water harvesting, (note that the area is also very rich in archaeological heritage hosting still perfectly functioning Roman era water cisterns), the project had from the beginning a clear plan of interventions. Several alternatives were considered, based also from previous water harvesting actions implemented in the area and supported by international donors and Egyptian Government, the project endorsed the best land reclamation approach that yielded these excellent results.
Outcomes
The major outcome was that if science and tradition are merged it is very likely that results will follow. Another important outcome is the fact that the sustainability of such actions requires commitment from the local community. This is most important for the maintenance of drainage channels and protecting the water harvesting cisterns from sediments that reduce the water storage capacity. One of the most pressing key implementation issues relate to farming practices that promote soil health, especially for increasing soil organic matter (SOM) that under arid environments is very low. But SOM plays a crucial role also in water storage capacity of the soil and is therefore a perfect lever for drought control and drought resilience. Results were stunning: water harvesting inside the wadi increased ten folds, 30% of the whole reclaimed area of 13 hectares was placed under supplementary irrigation, erosion on the slopes was reduced by 90%, natural vegetation cover on the slopes increased by 50%, providing not only shelter for the soil but also feedstuff for the animals. Income level of people increased, and new businesses started like poultry growing. Furthermore, the manure from the poultry business was used as organic fertiliser for the newly reclaimed farmland inside the wadi. This promoted a very positive chain reaction with notable socio-economic benefits. The impact of the action was extremely positive; it helped the national government of Egypt and the Governorate of Matrouh to replicate this result in many other abandoned wadis. Moreover, the Egyptian Desert Research Center increased its capacity in research and implementation of such projects and the international collaboration between Egyptian and Italian researchers proved to be very successful. The winers were the upland communities who were able to store enormous amounts of water in their fields. The losers are the downstream communities who were affected by the reduced water flow and hence less water for their fields. These types of contradictions are usual when dealing with landscape management, therefore setting priorities by the government is essential. Wadi Kharrouba is still a success story; all sorts of crops are grown and moreover the local people who own the reclaimed land are the best testimony that these types of interventions are the best for those areas. The project used financial resources provided by the Italian Cooperation Agency (AICS) under the program of debt conversion. Interventions like this require substantial amounts of resources that could be covered by international donors or national governments. Finally, after the main interventions are completed the sustainability of the action remains at the hands of local communities who must preserve and maintain these interventions.
Lessons Learned
The first lesson learned was that without the involvement of the local community project could be greatly compromised. This is a prerequisite for sustainability. The next lesson learned was: what you want to do with this newly reclaimed land, what crops to grow, how much water they need, how to provide that amount of water. Scalability and replicability are closely related to local conditions.
