Programme MEDA/SMAP - Short and Medium Term Priority Environmental Action Programme

1. Programme MEDA/SMAP - Short and Medium Term Priority Environmental Action Programme SMAP III “Plan of Action for an Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the area of Port Said (Egypt)” NRD Nucleo di Ricerca sulla Desertificazione Università degli Studi di Sassari

2. Location: Coastal zone of Port Said, Egypt Boundaries North: Mediterranean sea East: Suez Canal South: Salam Canal West: Manzala Lake

3. General objective: To prepare an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan for the area of Port Said (Egypt) and create the basis for its successive concrete implementation through an integrated and interdisciplinary approach and with the direct involvement of the relevant stakeholders (national and local competent authorities and local communities).

4. Specific objectives: • Evaluation of environmental, socio- economic and legal/institutional specific context in the project area by an intersectoral and participatory approach to create a knowledge base on the state of natural resources and socio-economic system, to perform an analysis of problems, gaps, constraints, opportunities in view of the ICZM Plan at national and local level • Implementation of demonstrative actions, awareness and training plans to promote methods and techniques of sustainable management of natural resources and to test social and economic feasibility/acceptability • Writing of a IZCM shared with stakeholders and supported by a Cost/Benefit analysis to create the condition for its concrete implementation

5. Coordinator: NRD - Nucleo di Ricerca sulla Desertificazione dell’Università degli Studi di Sassari, Italy • Partners: Partner 1: International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM-IAMB), Italy Partner 2: IAS Central Directorate of Irrigation Advisory Service – Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt Partner 3: El Zagazig University Center for GIS Studies and Service C/O Faculty of Agriculture University of El Zagazig, Egypt

6. Duration: 3 Years Starting date: 1st January 2006 End date: 31st December 2008 Total budget: 1.874.996,31 Euros 1.499.997,05 Euros (80 %) funded by the EC 374.999,26 Euros (20 %) cofinanced by IAS – MWRI and University of El Zagazig

7. Port Said coastal zone comprises most of bio-physical and socio-economics segments of the Country Main ICZM issues of Port Said coastal zone Socio-economic stability of the area Natural resources preservation • Water management for agricultural use • Land management and planning • Fishing and Aquaculture management • Shore protection • Urban area development • Socio-economic development of the urban and agricultural populations

8. Major constraints to the coastal area development and local needs • Water • Water quality decreasing for agriculture and aquaculture; • Limited share of water resources with increasing water demand; • Necessity of a de-centralized system for managing water resources; • Small land holding which reach 1.5 feddans per farmer in average; Land Agricultural pollution (pesticide and fertilizer); Soil degradation (salinisation and sodicity increasing,………) • Fishing and aquaculture sector • Structural constraints in aquaculture development in relation with the current growing of private sectors; • Absence of coordination marine fish hatcheries with commercial producers; Shore protection Extensive alongshore erosion (due to reduced sediment supply, land subsidence, etc…)

9. Urban area development Overpopulation Urban sprawl Loss of productive lands Pollution increasing Waste production Socio-economic development Low income of rural population and consequently diminishing percentage of full time farmers; Absence of long term stability in employment of urban population; Institutional aspects Deficiency of spatial information at the disposal of the decision makers; Necessity to integrate policies for the coastal protection and development; Lack of extension of information between the scientific community and local population;

10. The project builds on previous experience in which the IAS – MWRI and CIHEAM-IAMB are involved and addressed to the build up a Participatory Irrigation Management programme trough the constitution of WUA (Water user associations). The local communities of the pilot areas have been involved and already sensitized to the problems of common land and water management.

11. Project phases Preparatory phase (including Action 0):preliminary phase aiming to the setting up, within the Consortium (Applicant and Partners), of the technical, administrative and financial solutions for a correct and rational project management. First phase (including Action 1):real starting point of the project aiming to set up of stakeholders network which will be involved during the whole project implementation. Second phase (including Action 2,3,4,5,6,7):preliminary intersectoral and interdisciplinary analysis in order to obtain qualitative and quantitative information as input for the further activities. The Consortium will carry out this activity making use of mainly local experts (included in the Expert Team), opportunely identified between the involved stakeholders, project partners or external consultant , with the aim of analyzing a) the socio- economic, legal framework, environmental issues of the area (carried out on the base of existing data) b) more in specific water, land and fishery resources (carried out on the base of available information and on specific, targeted field survey.

12. Third phase(including Action 8,9,10,11):synthesis phase of the results by the previous actions aiming to define the gaps, opportunities and development solutions and starting form these demonstrate through participatory pilot actions (in opportunely identified pilot areas) sustainable models for coastal resources management and their monitoring system. Fourth phase (including Action12 and 13):phase aiming to take in consideration the results and input from the previous phases and formulate a an ICZM Plan draft with the stakeholders participation and also through a Cost/Benefit and environmental impact analysis. Fifth phase:achievement of the Project general objective through the production of the ICZM Plan for Port said area and its replicability Guidelines.

13. PROJECT ACTIONS AND LOGICAL FLOW

15. Work Programme - Timetable

16. Project output • Socio-economic and Legal/Institutional framework Technical Report • Environmental Coastal Analysis and Land Resources Technical Report • Water Resources and Fishery Technical Report • ICZM Plan of Action and Replicability Guidelines as results of a process of stakeholders involvement, C/B and environmental analysis

17. Applicant: Nucleo di Ricerca sulla Desertificazione dell’Università degli Studi di Sassari (NRD-UNISS) Added value: relevant experience as coordinator in other international projects (including a SMAP II project) and able to sensitize about ICZM SMAP at international level. Strong relation with several Mediterranean Institutions. Key sectors in the project: Coordination and management; Soil and Land management, desertification and land degradation analysis; indicators development Partner 1: International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM-IAMB) Added value: International institution involved in several other projects and studies in the Mediterranean area able to mobilize a wider network of other institution. Key sectors: technical training related to natural resources with specific attention on agricultural and water management and planning

18. Partner 2: IAS Central Directorate of Irrigation Advisory Service – Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation Added value: long period experience in the field of participation in coastal water management playing a key roles in several projects implemented in Egypt. Institutional partner able to catalyze the stakeholders network both at institutional and local communities level. Key sectors in the project: water management and strong experience in action implementation “on the field” Partner 3: El Zagazig University Center for GIS Studies and Service C/O Faculty of AgricultureUniversity of El-Zagazig Added value: University institution with a potentially extensive and interdisciplinary experience. The Center has good relation with other Egyptians public institutions and national and scientific communities in the Mediterranean. Key sectors in the project: GIS and Remote Sensing technologies; Land evaluation and management.