Egypt, the host of November’s COP27 UN climate conference, is scaling up efforts to cushion the densely populated Nile Delta against the increasingly intense flooding that plagues low-lying areas around the world.
As part of a broader $105m coastal management project led by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the government is building a system of sand dikes along the shores of the Nile Delta to hold back the sea during stormy weather.
Stretching almost 70km, the dike system covers five governorates recognised as flooding hotspots — Kafr El-Sheikh, Beheira, Dakahlia, Damietta and Port Said.
The aim is to save the homes and livelihoods of 250,000 Nile Delta residents, said Mohamed Bayoumi, a climate change specialist with UNDP in Egypt. Launched in 2019, the seven-year project has funding from the Green Climate Fund and the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation…