Sustainable management of natural resources for combating land degradation and conservation of biodiversity in the oases of western desert, Egypt
| Project title | Sustainable management of natural resources for combating land degradation and conservation of biodiversity in the oases of western desert, Egypt |
| Implementing Institutions | Desert Research Center Address: 1 Mathaf Al-Matareya St., POB 11753, Cairo Egypt |
| Country(ies) | Egypt |
| Abstract | Application of sustainable management of natural resources to combat land degradation, conserve biodiversity, to improve ecosystem resilience in the oases of western desert of Egypt. Western Desert (WD) extends over a vast area from the Libyan border (25˚E)to the Nile in the east (31˚E) and from the Mediterranean coast inland (34˚N) to the border of Sudan at latitude 22˚N and occupying about 681,000 km2 about two- third of the total country area. These oases are the study area of the current project. |
| Project Description | The flora of the Egyptian oases comprises 307 species including 143 annuals, 34 hydrophytic and reed swamps plants, 31 species halophytes and the others xerophytes. Six endemic species restricted to the Oases. Most species dominated in these habitats are halophytic plants. Despite the economic importance of wild plants and economic fungi in Egypt, the plant breeding is traditionally slow due to relative lack of distinctive morphological markers, little genetic inheritance knowledge of the secondary metabolite components, basic genetic knowledge is lacking and there are few genetic markers known for wild and medicinal plants. On the other hand, the list of wild plants in Egypt is inexhaustible. In spite of flora Egypt is rich in the plants, which have been used since ancient times in the treatment of a large number of diseases or as a source of fiber, oil, wood and energy or used as food and forage. Nowadays we can observed the spread out of the new tourism villages and new building town at the desert areas of the oases, beside the randomized gathering of the economic desert plants for using in folk medicine, which may destroyed the plant community and our genetic resources, hence we may lost our valuable plants resources. In the same time anticipated climate change will greatly amplify land degradation risks and destroyed wild plants. applying sustainable management of conservation biodiversity is vital and necessary for environmental protection, mitigation of desertification consequences (poverty, unemployment and socio-economic situation). |
| Project Objectives and expected Achievables | 1) Enhance policy, legal and institutional frameworks in oases ecosystems conservation practices. That will include improve agrobiodiversity as a result of changing biophysical or market conditions. 2) Application of sustainable land management practices in the Egyptian Oases, including biodiversity management, restoration of degraded land and other practices are very effective in climate change mitigating (CCM) through reduce GHG emissions. 3) Establishment of pilot sites including models of sustainable land management of degraded land and increase awareness on the importance of the sand stabilization, sustainable land management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security for human and enhance animal feeds and the biological value of oases management through enhanced the skills of about one hundred local inhabitance (men and women) in combating desertification and conserving biodiversity. 4) Measures to conserve and sustainably manage biodiversity harbored in oases systems are mainstreamed in policies and regulatory frameworks in Egypt that could enhance sustainable land management (SLm). 5) Maintain, management and restore biodiversity can help mitigate the effects of climate change by sequestering carbon and increasing energy efficiency measures. 6) Improve the areas devoted to agriculture in agriculture production systems and enhance livelihood strategies and socio-economic growth among use of native species in biological stabilization, sustainable wetland management, restoration of degraded wetlands. 7) Assessment and promotion of alternate income generating mechanism, for and with the participation of local communities livening in the Oases landscapes. 8) Systematic information of Oases benefit sharing mechanisms are identified, shared and linked to local communities and markets 9) Conservation and exploitation of using the economic fungal species. |
| Timeframe | 3 years |
| Geographic Scale | National |
| Seeking Resources for: | Project implementation |
| Type of Resources/Support needed: | Financial |