Egypt

On 23rd of May 2021, IWMI's ReWater MENA project team, accompanied by colleagues from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), conducted a field visit to Sarapium Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Ismailia to follow up on the activities implemented in the experimental site for feasible water reuse solutions at the site. The project tends to expand the treated wastewater reuse directly and indirectly in the region by developing reuse models and national plans for the safe use of treated wastewater in Egypt.

A delegation from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), accompanied by ReWater MENA project team, conducted a field visit to Sarapium Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Ismailia on May 31st 2021, to follow up on the activities implemented in the experimental site of Sarapium as part of ReWater MENA, which SIDA has supported since 2018; and to better understand the wastewater reuse context and agricultural practices in Egypt.

In an attempt to expand the safe reuse of wastewater in the Middle East and North Africa, ReWater MENA, which addresses barriers to water reuse in the region, held a workshop in Egypt meant to build and strengthen the capacities of various stakeholders and participants in the country.

The Safe use of Wastewater workshop in Egypt, organised by the International Water management Institute (IWMI) – ReWater MENA project, will be wrapped up on Sunday with a closing ceremony to be held later in the day.

Cairo – 11 April 2021: The Safe Use of Wastewater workshop organized in Egypt this week will conclude on Sunday, which aimed to build and strengthen the capacities of different stakeholders and participants from Egypt in the field of safe use of wastewater. The workshop was organized by the International Water management Institute (IWMI) – ReWater MENA project, in collaboration with Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) during the period April 4-11, 2021.

ReWater MENA project in partnership with CEDARE, carried out the 3nd virtual National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting in Egypt. The meeting brought diverse stakeholders together to discuss the progress of "Egypt's National 2030 Water Reuse Targets and Strategy", which aims for “More and Safer Water Reuse”.  In addition to discussing the preparation for the 4th national Learning Alliance (NLA) dialogue on the "Validation of the Egypt 2030 Water Reuse Targets".

Achieving water security is an enormous challenge facing countries of the MENA region, among which is Egypt. On the one hand, water demand is increasing due to population growth, urbanization trend and economic development. On the other hand, water availability is decreasing due to climate change leading to droughts and floods, low water quality, and poor water management in the context of fragility, conflict, and violence. According to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), Egypt requires 114 billion cubic meter (BCM) of water per year to cover the country’s increasing demands from the agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as water for drinking and household use.

Citizens’ participation in water resources management is a buzz word that has received attention from donor organisations and governments. Participatory approaches are implemented in countless development projects and programs, particularly in developing countries. But the question is, what sort of “participatory” governance do we need - as development professionals in the water sector - to achieve development goals (e.g. SDG 6)?

With Egypt’s National Steering Committee’s (NSC) members working steadily and ceaselessly towards competently implementing the ReWater project, a number of 14 representatives affiliated to diverse entities, elevated collaboration for combating challenges to higher levels.

IWMI’s MENA office organized and hosted a fruitful meeting in Cairo on the 10th of December 2019. The ReWater MENA project’s partners’ remarkable gathering was attended by 10 distinct representatives, comprising 3 of which were delegates of the project’s donor; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).