3 STUDY AREAS: OUTLINE AND DESCRIPTION

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1 3 STUDY AREAS: OUTLINE AND DESCRIPTION

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3 STUDY AREAS 3.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION This research work has been carried out in two Mediterranean regions: Andalusia (southwestern Spain) and El-Fayoum province (northern Egypt) (Figure 3-1). These cover an area of approximately and 6068 km 2, respectively. Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land frontier with Gibraltar; to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay. Egypt lies in northeastern Africa. Most of Egypt s terrain is desert land, divided into two unequal parts (Eastern and Western Deserts) by the Nile River. Egypt is a transcontinental country: a small Asian part to the east of the Suez Canal, and the main territory to the west of the Suez Canal is located in Africa. This country is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip (Palestine) and France Switzerland Italy Austria Hungary Yugoslavia Romania Bulgaria Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Portugal Spain Italy Albania Greece Turkey Andalusia Italy Tunisia Greece Cyprus Syria Lebanon Morocco El-Fayoum Israel Jordan Western Sahara Algeria Libya Egypt Saudi Arabia Mauritania Mali Niger Chad Sudan Figure 3-1. Study areas: Andalusia, southern Spain; and El-Fayoum province, northern Egypt. 49

4 CHAPTER 3 Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west. Egypt is considered as a major regional power and is the most populous country in the Arab world, and the third most populous in Africa, after Nigeria and Ethiopia. The main Egyptian population centers are located in the valley and delta of the Nile CLIMATE Spain has a predominantly warm Mediterranean climate, with more than 3000 sun hours per year in some areas (López, 2003). Spain can be divided into three large climatic areas: the northern and northwestern corner, with warm oceanic climate, mild temperatures and rainfall throughout the year (Cfb, according to the Köppen climate classification; Peel et al., 2007), the central-eastern and southeastern areas, with semiarid climate (Bsh, Bsk) and the Mediterranean climate area, dominant in the Peninsula (Csa, Csb), with warm winters and hot, dry summers and annual rainfall ranging from 300 to 600 mm (Benet, 2006). Climate of Egypt is characterized by a hot desert climate (BWh), with a hot season from March to September and a cold season from October to February. The average temperature increases from the Nile Delta in the north to the Sudanese border in the south, where temperatures are similar to those of the open deserts to the east and west. In southern Egypt, June temperatures can be as low as 10 o C at night and as high as 41 o C during day. During the winter season, most of Egypt is characterized by cloudy skies especially in northern parts, while cloud cover decreases from north to south. All of Egypt is characterized by clear sky during the summer season (June to August) and partially cloudy skies during the transitional seasons of spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). Rainfall decreases rapidly with latitude, and in many desert locations it is limited to one event in several years (Robaa, 2008). The most pronounced feature of the agroecological area is the Nile River which provides Egypt with 55.5 billion m 3 /year SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND POPULATION In 1960, the Spanish population was 30.7 million, which was comparable in size to the Egyptian population of 28.6 million. Since then, there has been a much more dramatic population growth in Egypt compared to Spain. 50

5 STUDY AREAS Currently Egypt s population is 91 million, compared to Spain s 47.1 million. According to FAOSTAT 3 (2014) predictions, Egypt s population will reach million by 2050, compared to the predicted population of Spain in the same year: 51.3 million (Figure 3-2). In conclusion, the Egyptian population tends to grow rapidly, which leads to difficulties for achieving sustainable production as well as demands for food and other agricultural products. Figure 3-3 shows the increase of agricultural and urban population in Egypt and Spain. According to statics of El-Fayoum Governorate (2013), El-Fayoum has about 2.7 million inhabitants, The population of Andalusia is much larger at 8.4 million (INE 4, 2013). Figure 3-2. Comparison between the total population in Spain and Egypt (1960 to 2050). Original data source: FAOSTAT (2014)

6 CHAPTER 3 Figure 3-3. Agricultural and urban population in Spain and Egypt during ( ). Adapted from FAOSTAT (2014). According to recent numbers, the proportion of illiteracy is 17.2% in Andalusia (INE, 2011) and 31.1 % in El-Fayoum. Generally, female access to education in Egypt is still low, but it is markedly improving in urban areas in the last years (Sultana, 2008). AGRICULTURE Spain has a total surface area of 504 thousand km 2, and consists of 50 provinces grouped into 17 autonomous regions and 2 autonomous cities. Egypt has a total area of 1 million km 2, formed by 27 provinces. The Spanish area dedicated to agriculture is about eight times the agricultural area in Egypt. Although the agricultural area in Egypt is increasing in recent years, it only accounts for 3.7 % of the total area (as of 2010). In short, this means that the agricultural area in Egypt increased only by about km 2 during the last 50 years. 52

7 STUDY AREAS Figure 3-4. Evolution of agricultural area in Spain and Egypt ( ). Adapted from FAOSTAT (2014). Furthermore, in Spain, the agricultural area has decreased during the last decades, from 66.5% in 1961 to 55.2 % in This means that about 57 thousand km 2 have been transformed during the last 50 years (Figure 3-4). Many countries such as Egypt and Spain need to increase their agricultural production in order to feed their growing urban and rural populations and to produce raw material for local industries and export in sufficient quantities to sustain a healthy economy. In this case, especially Egypt faces severe challenges because of the limitation in the availability of agricultural land. This is further complicated by the scarcity and quality of irrigation water and suitable soils in semiarid and arid areas. It is obvious that land use planning has to be optimized to meet those requirements. Main land uses and soil covers in Andalusia are forest, agriculture, water bodies and urban areas, which represent 50, 44, 3 and 3% of the total area, respectively (Figure 3-5). 53

8 CHAPTER 3 Land use in Andalusia 2007 Forest 50% Agricultural land 44% Water bodies 3% Urban 3% Figure 3-5. Graphical presentation of land use in Andalusia. Adapted from Bermejo et al. (2011). Land use in El Fayoum province 2005 Land use in El Fayoum depression 2005 Desert land 64% Agricultural land 28% Agricultural land 77% Urban 4% Qarun & Wadi El Rayan lakes 7% Urban 1% Qarun & Wadi El Rayan lakes 19% Figure 3-6. Graphical presentation of land use in El-Fayoum province in general (left) and specifically the depression (right). Modified from El-Fayoum Governorate, Directorate of Agriculture (2005). 54

9 STUDY AREAS Figure 3-7. Landsat 7 false color image of part of Andalusia showing (A) greenhouse crops in Almería, (B) Sierra Nevada mountains, Granada, (C) intense farming in the Guadalquivir valley, (D) evergreen forest in Algeciras mountains and (E) rice crops in the marshland between the provinces of Sevilla and Huelva. 55

10 CHAPTER 3 Because the agricultural area in Spain is so large (Figure 3-7), it is important to study land degradation and soil productivity under climate change scenarios to maintain agricultural productivity. On the other hand, the limited agricultural area in Egypt needs to be protected or even improved to be able to meet the country s demands. This leads us to study land degradation, soil productivity and crop suitability under different scenarios of agricultural management in order to conserve this area and contribute to design policies that allow feeding the high population. The major part of El-Fayoum province is desert land (6068 km 2, 64% of the total area; Figure 3-6). 28% of the area is used for farming, while urban areas represent only 1 %. Specifically in the El-Fayoum depression (the non-desert part of the province), agricultural land makes up 77% of the total area, while urban areas (the most important city is Fayoum) and water bodies (Qarun and Wadi El Rayan) occupy 4 and 19%, respectively (Directorate of Agriculture, 2005) In Egypt the proportion of arable land in agricultural areas decreased from 97.3% in 1961 to 78.2% in In contrast, this proportion did not change strongly in Spain, as it only varied slightly between 48.9 and 45.0% during the same period (Table 3-1). The total area equipped for irrigation in Egypt decreased with only 0.1% of agricultural area between 1961 and In contrast, a significant increase has been observed in Spain, where irrigated areas increased from 5.9 to 13.3% of total agricultural area between 1961 and 2010 (Table 3-1). Table 3-1. Difference between the proportion of arable land and total area equipped for irrigation of the agricultural area in Spain and Egypt ( ). Adapted from FAOSTAT (2014). Year Arable land,% Total area equipped for irrigation,% Egypt Spain Egypt Spain Mean

11 STUDY AREAS The total cropping area in Spain is approximately 2.4 times that in Egypt and, consequently, the total production is higher in Spain (Table 3-2). Nevertheless, the yield (as measured in ton/ha, averaged over all crops) is comparable in both countries. Only some crops show higher yields in Egypt than in Spain; these are mainly the crops that are irrigated in Egypt but rainfed in Spain, which shows that irrigation does indeed improve yield. Crop production in Egypt is limited by quality and availability of arable land. In the Nile valley, productivity has been restricted, in part, by high soil salinity and by the encroachment by urban settlements over previously productive land (Figure 3-8 shows a view of urban areas in El-Fayoum). Offsetting these losses, cultivated land has expanded to desert and coastal regions. While these processes have long been recognized, data concerning the extent and degree of these phenomena are neither complete nor consistent (Kishk, 1986). Table 3-2. The differences between cropping area (% of total), yield (ton/ha) and total production (ton) in Spain and Egypt (2012) for different major crops. Adapted from FAOSTAT (2014). (*) In Spain, these crops are mainly rainfed, but in Egypt, these crops are irrigated. Crop Cropping area Yield Production Spain Egypt Spain Egypt Spain Egypt Barley * 29.1% 1.8% Bean, dry 0.1% 1.0% Maize 4.2% 21.1% Olive * 25.0% 1.5% Potato 8.0% 4.6% Rice, paddy 1.2% 18.8% Seed cotton 0.8% 4.0% Sorghum 0.1% 4.5% Sugar beet 4.2% 4.3% Sunflower seed * 8.3% 0.3% Wheat * 19.1% 38.0% Total/average

12 CHAPTER 3 Figure 3-8. Landsat 7 false color image of El-Fayoum and surrounding area. LAND DEGRADATION Demographic pressure is an important factor leading to degradation of agricultural land. In Spain, the agricultural area per capita is 0.59 ha, compared to a meagre 0.04 ha in Egypt. In Egypt, to be self-sufficient, about 3.6 million ha (Table 3-2) could be used to feed its population of 86 million. The Egyptian population is predicted to continue to grow (Figure 3-2), Which places increasing demands on land from economic development and increasing urban areas. This population growth is therefore leading to an unprecedented land-use change. In turn, unsustainable land uses are leading to land degradation, and a long-term loss of ecosystem functions and productivity that requires progressively greater inputs to be compensated. Some of the main impacts are soil erosion processes, nutrient depletion, increased salinity, water scarcity, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Quantitative up-to-date information is necessary to support policy 58

13 STUDY AREAS development to ensure food and water security, protect the environment, and encourage economic development (UNEP, 2007). Egypt experiences the disintegration of agricultural ownership and a limited average farm size which is why it is necessary to implement new technologies to manage agriculture in a sustainable way. The current use of irrigation in Egyptian agriculture makes it one of the most intensive agricultural systems in the world, with up to three harvests per year. Under the current demographic pressure, it seems necessary to increase production inputs, i.e. irrigation, fertilization, and pesticides. This has led to a clear unbalance between achieving a high production and maintaining soil and land quality, especially since most farmers are smallholders who have difficulties to develop land protection systems (UNCCD, 2005). According to Hamdi (2007), sustainable agriculture is related to environmental, agronomic, ethical, and socioeconomic issues, among others. Sustainable agriculture might be defined as farming practices not only aimed to maintain or increase soil fertility (and thereby crop productivity) and quality of products, but also other soil functions, including ecological soil functions. One aspect of sustainability is to prevent the pollution of irrigation water and the accumulation of heavy metals in soils, which both cause problems if certain levels are exceeded. Preventing environmental pollution, and protecting cultivated soils should therefore have the highest priority. A B 160 NPK fertilizers use in Spain 160 NPK fertilizers use in Egypt Quantity (x 10 4 ton) Quantity (x 10 4 ton) Nitrogen Phosphate Potash Fertilizers 0 Nitrogen Phosphate Potash Fertilizers Figure 3-9. Application of NPK fertilizers in Spain (A) and Egypt (B) in 2002 and Adapted from FAOSTAT (2014). 59

14 CHAPTER 3 Figure Amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilizers used between 1960 and 1995 in Egypt. Values calculated as N fertilizers (N), P 2 O 5 (P) and K 2 O (K). Source: Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture (1998). It is noteworthy to emphasize that current agricultural production has increased in comparison with recent decades. The considerable increase in production of all types of crops (such as wheat, corn, maize, cotton and alfalfa) is related with the choice for new varieties, new technologies, and the high efficiency of fertilizers. In comparison to Spain, this process has led to a general increase in the use of N and P fertilizers in Egypt between 2002 and 2011 (Figure 3-9). This is even more relevant when taking into account the difference between agricultural areas in both countries. Figure 3-10 shows the strong increase of fertilizer use in Egypt between 1960 and 1995 according to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture (1998). In this period, the use of N fertilizers increased by 400%, P fertilizers by 320%, and K fertilizers by 1750%. 60