Egypt's water security situation in the context of Asia water development outlook approach

Abstract EN

Water Security is very urgent for sustainable development in Egypt.

Growing population needs more food production, water for drinking, hygiene, and to respond to economic activities which rely on access to more water.

Worldwide, Water Poverty Index was used to express the water sector status and challenges.

However, this index does not adequately represent the water sector status since its calculation is only based on available water resources and population.

The scarcity index does not reflect the demand, the degree of water availability, efficiency, vulnerability, reuse, and water quality.

To overcome such situation, the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) was developed to investigate the actual water security status and its impact on the socio-economic and environmental development.

The presented framework for assessment of Water Security comprises five Key Dimensions: (i) household water security, (ii) economic water security, (iii) urban water security, (iv) environmental water security, and (v) resilience to water-related disasters.

According to the AWDO Methodology, Assessing Water Security in five dimensions will represent more accurately the inherent tension among water uses that emerge as water resources come under increasing stress.

It may also be used to measure the outcome of integrated water resources management.

In this paper the AWDO will be applied to assess the Water Security status in Egypt, evaluate its applicability, and recommend the necessary modifications added and removed parameters to suit the Egyptian local conditions.