Adaptation of Sea Level Rise in Nile Delta Due to Climate Change

Abstract

Nile Delta is vulnerable due to the impact of climate change and related sea level rise. Due to low elevation in the Nile delta region, Egypt is considered one of the top five countries expected to be mostly impacted with a 1 m sea level rise resulting from global warming. Egypt is ranked as the fifth in the world concerning the impact on the total urban areas, Egypt’s GDP would be significantly impacted, and Egypt’s natural resources such as coastal zone, water resources, water quality, agricultural land, livestock and fisheries maybe subjected to vulnerability. Also, Egypt may face environmental crises such as shore erosion, salt-water intrusion, and soil salinity. Egypt should realize the threats from climate change, formulate policies that will minimize the risks and to take action. Adaptation to climate change in Egypt is a major issue from the perspectives of water resources development, food production, and rural population stabilization. Egypt should adapt a vulnerability index to identify the most endangered regions. A multi-criterion analysis in ranking the effectiveness of adaptation strategy using fuzzy decision making is proposed. The decision-making process involves determining the set of alternatives, evaluating alternatives, and comparison between alternatives. The model is suitable in evaluating situations that deal with ambiguity and vagueness, involve subjectivity, and imprecise information. Using fuzzy decision making technique enables maximum benefit from practical know-how, take into account several variables and perform “weighted merging” of influencing into variables.