| Roughly 96 percent of Egypt's land mass is | | | | |
| made up of desert. Since the time of the | | | | Farag points out over the land teeming with |
| pharaohs, the country has relied on a fertile | | | | green and blooming bougainvillea and |
| narrow strip along the Nile River to support | | | | remembers what the area used to be. "Thirty |
| every aspect of social and economic life. | | | | years ago, when I first came here, this was |
| Now, once again, Egypt is looking to the | | | | all sand dunes," he said. "Now look at it. |
| desert as well as the Nile to build new | | | | It's full of citrus trees, grapes, wheat, |
| communities and grow more food. Leslie Boctor | | | | everything. This is all thanks to Dr. |
| has more on Egypt's ambitious plans to | | | | Bishai." |
| reclaim desert from our Middle East bureau in | | | | |
| Cairo. | | | | The Desert Development Center is the |
| | | | brainchild of Adly Bishai, Egypt's pioneer in |
| Along the banks of the Nile, you'll still | | | | sustainable desert living. While the center |
| find ancient irrigation devices known as | | | | has spent the last 30 years researching how |
| "shadufs" pulling up water from the river to | | | | to make life in the desert sustainable, the |
| irrigate the lush fields. The land is among | | | | reclaimed land surrounding it has been used |
| the most productive in the world, and most of | | | | for other purposes. Bishai laments that the |
| Egypt's population lives in the Nile valley | | | | land has been turned into gated communities |
| that makes up only four percent of the | | | | and golf courses. If Egypt is going to make a |
| country's total area. The rest is sand. | | | | dent in its population crisis and food |
| | | | shortages, he says, it must cater to the |
| Egypt is facing a population boom in its | | | | needs of average Egyptians. |
| already overcrowded Nile corridor. It has no | | | | |
| choice but to move into desert lands and | | | | "Egypt needs to use the desert to take care |
| redirect people and agriculture. Over the | | | | of the tremendous increase in population," he |
| past 50 years, the country has invested | | | | explained. "We also need to use the desert |
| enormous resources to divert water from the | | | | to produce food, which we are now importing |
| Nile into desert areas. | | | | most of it. We are in a mess! You see in |
| | | | order for the desert development to be |
| Yet how can desert expansion be sustained | | | | successful, you have to have two things. One, |
| when Egypt's very limited water supply is | | | | enough water, and two, proper plans to get |
| consumed virtually for free? Developers | | | | people convinced they can live there more |
| continue to set up five-star resorts in the | | | | comfortably and have a good life for |
| Sinai that rely on water pumped in from the | | | | themselves and their children." |
| Nile. Anthropologist Donald Cole, from the | | | | |
| American University of Cairo, has | | | | President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the |
| reservations about how water is being used | | | | world's largest water-pumping station last |
| and at what cost. | | | | month in Egypt's Western Desert as part of a |
| | | | massive reclamation project. The station |
| "There are other activities that are taking | | | | pumps more than 14 million cubic meters per |
| place in the desert lands - tourism, location | | | | day of water from Lake Nasser, behind the |
| of new industries, schools, new urban | | | | Aswan High Dam, to irrigate over 200,000 |
| communities, golf courses - which have water | | | | hecatres of desert land. The ultimate plan is |
| uses," said Mr. Cole. "All of which is using | | | | to resettle some six million Egyptians from |
| Nile water, largely free. The water is not | | | | the Nile Valley to southern Egypt and the |
| priced in ways that one would have to think | | | | western oases. |
| of if you have to pay the true cost of the | | | | |
| golf course. There is a kind of private | | | | If Egypt is to have any success with such |
| sector development that is pushing into and | | | | mega-projects, Bishai urges the government to |
| taking advantage of what is available in | | | | learn from its past mistakes. He says many of |
| water, acting as if the water is here | | | | the desert satellite cities outside Cairo |
| forever, and plenty of it, no problem." | | | | evolved either into industrial zones with |
| | | | dreary housing or residential developments |
| Whether the government will move toward a | | | | with luxury villas. Bishai says there has to |
| realistic pricing of water remains to be | | | | be a compelling reason for people to leave |
| seen. In the meantime, it is pressing forward | | | | their homes. |
| with reclamation plans. Over the next 10 | | | | |
| years, it wants to reclaim 1.4 million | | | | "Why would people want to leave their Cairo |
| hectares of desert. Critics, however, say | | | | house and live somewhere else unless they get |
| this is unrealistic and estimate the figure | | | | better housing? If they also have the |
| to be half of that, water permitting. One | | | | facilities where they can send their children |
| highly visible example of desert reclamation | | | | to good schools, where their wives can work - |
| exists on the desert highway connecting Cairo | | | | that's the only way to attract people to live |
| and Alexandria. | | | | there," he added. |
| | | | |
| Mohamed Farag, 76, is a Bedouin from the | | | | As for Mohamed Farag, he was convinced long |
| Sinai Peninsula. He works at the Desert | | | | ago that desert living was far superior to |
| Development Center, a research initiative | | | | city life. He has one piece of advice for |
| sponsored by the American University in | | | | city dwellers. "Come," he said, "come and |
| Cairo. The center is one of the first | | | | live here. There is plenty of room. You can |
| experiments in land reclamation on the desert | | | | plant anything This is a beautiful life, he |
| highway. | | | | says, one where you can live with dignity. |