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