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Characterizing Ecosystem Services to Human Well-Being in Groundwater Dependent Desert Environments

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Groundwater in Egypt’s Deserts

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Abstract

As groundwater use intensifies, the stakes in management decisions grow larger and more complex. Ecosystem service analysis connects groundwater management decision-making to a range of valuable outcomes for human well-being. This chapter explores conceptual developments enabling the ecosystem services associated with groundwater reserves and extraction options to be characterized, compared, and weighed in qualitative and quantitative terms by decision-makers. The application of these concepts and associated methods is illustrated through a case study located in the Nubian-Moghra Miocenene-Nile aquifer complex at Wadi Natrun in the Western Desert of Egypt. The chapter reveals a wide range of provisioning services provided by groundwater in the case study area of the Egyptian desert. It is unlikely that these could all be fully assessed. However, the case study demonstrated that groundwater managers can use the ecosystem services framework to identify and assess some of the most important benefits that groundwater provides to society, including its essential services as a buffer against water security threats. The iterative approach offers options for groundwater managers in Egypt and elsewhere to coordinate across sectors of government, engaging the public and the scientific community to overcome assessment challenges in a progressive manner.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Note that these changes in prices will have been related to factors other than groundwater conditions. Some further analysis of the effects of the removal of subsidies might be available from the World Bank in light of their work on this issue.

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Acknowledgements

Many people have provided inputs into the compilation of this chapter. They bear no responsibility for the final chapter, or any errors that it may contain. We wish to express particular thanks to Dr. Abdelazim Negm for encouragement to complete and publish this chapter. We are grateful also to Fabrice Renaud, Jaroslav Vrba and colleagues taking part in the United Nations University (UNU)—UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) international research project on Groundwater and Human Security Case Studies (GWAHS-CS) for intellectual and financial support. Additional funding for field research was provided through an Award for Doctoral study funded by ESRC/NERC, UK. We also thank Harris Switzman for advice during the preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Borders Institute (TBI), Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

    Caroline King-Okumu

  2. GeoData Institute, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Caroline King-Okumu

  3. Technical Office of Groundwater Sector, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Giza, Egypt

    Ahmed Abdelkhalek

  4. Pharos University (www.pua.edu.eg), Alexandria, Egypt

    Boshra Salem

Authors
  1. Caroline King-Okumu
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  2. Ahmed Abdelkhalek
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  3. Boshra Salem
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Correspondence to Caroline King-Okumu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Water and Water Structures Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Abdelazim Negm

  2. Plant Ecology and Range Management Department, Desert Research Center, Egypt, Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmed Elkhouly

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King-Okumu, C., Abdelkhalek, A., Salem, B. (2021). Characterizing Ecosystem Services to Human Well-Being in Groundwater Dependent Desert Environments. In: Negm, A., Elkhouly, A. (eds) Groundwater in Egypt’s Deserts. Springer Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77622-0_4

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