Water Resources Minister Hani Sewilam in Exclusive Interview with Earth Guards and Muhammad Zeyada

Professor Dr. Hani Sweilem, “Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation”:

• The 17 United Nations goals revolve around water and ways to conserve it.
• 75% of Egyptian water goes to agriculture.
• Rehabilitation of 7,000 kilometers of canals within the national canal rehabilitation project.
• Water is a human right, and it must be preserved.
• Awareness is one of the Ministry’s strategy tools through holding seminars in cooperation with many parties.
• The transition from flood irrigation to modern irrigation should be based on a scientific method.
• The Ministry implemented the project “Enhancing Adaptation to Climate Change in the North Coast and the Nile Delta” with environmentally friendly materials.

In this dialogue, Professor Dr. Hani Sweilem –Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation– shed light on the Egyptian strategies in the field of water management, and how he was able to talk about this important file, not only as a minister who is aware of the responsibility placed on him, but also as an Egyptian researcher who realizes the pivotal importance of water in the way of developing Egyptian society and supporting its life in a sustainable manner… So here are the lines of our dialogue. With him.

The Earth Guards magazine began this dialogueby talking about the steps to achieve the goals ofsustainable development, inquiring about the role of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in supporting the achievement of these goals, and highlighting the most prominent milestones to which the Ministry pays great attention.

In response to this, Dr. Hani Sweilem explained the effective role of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially since the seventeen international goals include water and its preservation in one way or another. Rather, he stressed that the goal related to eliminating hunger is a goal closely related to food, and the latter refers to water. The Minister also drew attention to the fact that the sixth goal of these goals called for by the United Nations is related to water. Hence, he sees the importance of water as a key area for supporting sustainable development at all levels.

Concerning the importance of water and its developmental effectson our planet, Dr. Sweilem stressed that water is a human right and must be preserved. The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation gave an example of the utmost importance of education in achieving the goals related to water conservation, as he said: “We see education in Africa – for example – present within the work related to water and its resources, as many of Africa’s children work in collecting water, and here achieving the goals of education is impossible, and it is a well-known problem in African countries in general.”

This is about the continent of Africa in general, and as for Egypt in particular, the minister stressed that the importance of water to it is evident in its actual ability to achieve self-sufficiency in food – as much as possible – by maximizing the return from a unit of water; Therefore, responsible water use plays a major role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 As for the role of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in achieving “Egypt Vision 2030”, Dr. Hani Sweilem had this answer, which discussed in detail the extent of the interconnection between this national vision and the ministry, pointing out that it is not an interconnection specific to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation only, but rather an important interconnection between the rest of the relevant ministries.

Here he expressed the Ministry’s interest in this ambitious vision through two specific dimensions related to water: the economic dimension and the environmental dimension, noting that 75% of Egypt’s water goes to the agricultural field; Therefore, Dr. Hani Sweilem emphasized that the Ministry’s role is to make water available to farmers in an effective manner. So that this benefits local production, so that the Egyptian economic dimension is achieved.

The Minister also saw that this role is not limited to the agricultural field, but that industry – which mainly uses water – has a share in this role. Therefore, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation always seeks to support this vital sector.

Since water wealth is important for achieving a sustainable life, “Earth Guards” magazine decided to look at the list of projects of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation regarding the rehabilitation of canals, where Sweilem said: “The rehabilitation of canals is an integral part of the larger role of the Ministry, which aims to restore the canals to their basic function, and enable them to deliver water to the beneficiaries in the required quantity and quality, and at the appropriate time.”

The Minister spoke about the national project established by the state to rehabilitate canals throughout Egypt, and indicated that 7,000 kilometers of canals have been completed so far. The Minister evaluated this project as being able to make water available in a fair and efficient manner, deliver water to the ends of the canals, reduce the arrival time of irrigation water, and improve the distribution process. Water, in addition to other gains, such as increased area available by canal embankments; To build roads and environmental returns.

Then Dr. Hani Sweilem stated that the canal rehabilitation project is still ongoing, and that the Ministry has developed a guide for the rehabilitation of canals, in which a large number of specialists from the Ministry and universities participated in its preparation, and in this guide the experiences gained during the first stages of the project were benefited from.

His Excellency indicated that rehabilitation is a concept that includes many different methods, such as arranging or tamping, and lining is one of the tools for rehabilitating canals, which depends mainly on the condition of the canal, the water sector, and the nature of the soil that forms the canal bridges.

BAfter that, “Huma Al-Earth” magazine moved to a topic of importance, which is the role of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in strengthening the Egyptian presence on the African level. Regarding this, the words of the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation were concerned with the historical view of the African depth, as it is Egypt’s strategic dimension and its soft power, stressing that we should not neglect this. side; Hence, the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi came laden with the extreme importance that the government must attach to the issues of the African continent.

Then the minister spoke about the direct role played by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, which emerged through serious regional steps, including Egypt’s presidency of the “African Ministers of Water Council – AMCOW,” where he explained that it is a council that includes 54 water ministers from the African continent, and that the Egyptian presidency of this council extends from March 2023 until February 2025.

He expected that in the next two years, Egypt would reap African achievements through this council, as it is an effective mechanism in aspiring to a sustainable life in all African countries, noting that Egypt had recently hosted twenty African ministers, and more than twenty-four representatives of African countries, forty-four countries, to participate in the activities of the thirteenth meeting of the General Assembly of the Council of African Ministers of Water. (Al-Amkaw).

Beyond this, Dr. Hani Sweilem pointed out that the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has been able to make a prominent contribution in the field of adaptation to climate change and the integration of water issues into the global climate file, especially since Egypt launched at COP27 an international initiative to adapt to climate change in the water sector “AWARe”, which aims to mobilize funds that help African countries adapt to climate change, and provide the necessary training for specialists in African countries in the field of Adaptation to climate change, as Egypt provides its specialized centers for this purpose through the Regional Training Center for Water Resources, which has become an African center for training in the field of climate change.

Here the minister pointed out that the continent of Africa emits the least carbon dioxide emissions, and this means that African developing countries have been wronged because of the financial damages they suffer as a result of harmful emissions in other continents. Therefore, Sweilem saw that the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties (COP) was an opportunity to discuss this unfair situation, as the establishment of a fund for losses and damages is one of the gains of “COP27”.

On the other hand, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation had a special talk in which he spoke about the strategies implemented by the Ministry in order to rationalize water and support methods for preserving it, where he explained how the Ministry works regarding this matter, and this is through two directives.

First– Water guidance, where the Ministry’s experts talk to farmers about the benefits of switching from traditional irrigation to modern irrigation, and how such modern systems are able to reduce water consumption, in addition to their remarkable ability to increase agricultural productivity and reduce fertilizer consumption.

The Other– Water awareness, which is a strategy pursued by the Ministry to increase community awareness of the water issue, by holding seminars in cooperation with many agencies, where about 260 awareness seminars are held annually with the participation of about 40 thousand participants in various governorates, which are held in cooperation with many ministries and agencies through signed protocols in this regard, such as: Al-Azhar, Church, Endowments, Culture, Education, National Council for Women.

Television and radio media campaigns are also produced to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation, and daily press releases are prepared to respond to rumours, clarify the most important activities and achievements of the Ministry, and present the Ministry’s vision on issues that concern public opinion, in addition to what is published on the Ministry’s official page on Facebook – followed by more than 330,000 followers – to present the Ministry’s most prominent activities and projects.

Many competitions are also organized with the participation of thousands of young people and school students annually, and Ramadan competitions are organized, and the outside world is addressed through social media platforms through awareness messages directed in English, as well as designing visual episodes on the Ministry’s various projects, such as: projects to rehabilitate water facilities, a project to develop the irrigation and drainage system in Siwa Oasis, projects to protect against the dangers of floods, projects to protect Egyptian beaches, and episodes on the water footprint that aims to To educate citizens about the quantities of water used to produce various products, whether food or other; Let the citizen realize that wasting any product is not only a waste of natural resources, but also a waste of water.

Also, the magazine had a question about modern irrigation techniques, and the Ministry’s role in supporting these techniques, where the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation answered that the transition from flood irrigation to modern irrigation should be based on a scientific method, and here he clearly indicates that this transformation cannot be implemented overnight, but rather the transformation must take into account the elements of the water system All.

He explained that this strategy has specific priorities, as priority is given to desert lands, where a modern irrigation system must be used in accordance with the law. Among the priorities that the Minister also spoke about is the priority of transforming sugarcane and orchard cultivation using drip irrigation, which is Egypt’s vision that the government is sparing no effort to implement.

 Last but not least, “Earth Guards” asked about the benefits that could be reaped by agricultural wastewater treatment projects, Dr. Hani Sweilem’s answer reflected the importance of such projects, especially since our water needs reach about 110 billion cubic meters of water annually, corresponding to water resources that do not exceed 60 billion cubic meters of water annually, and the average per capita share of water reaches approximately 500 cubic meters annually, which represents half of the global water poverty line, which is estimated at 1,000 cubic meters annually.

The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation alluded to a number of national projects, such as projects to protect Egyptian beaches from rising sea levels and marine cores, especially in the Nile River Delta, which is considered one of the regions in the world most threatened by the negative effects of climate change. The Ministry implemented projects to protect Egyptian beaches with lengths of up to 144 kilometers using traditional methods, and the implementation of a pioneering project at the global level, which is the project “Enhancing Adaptation to Climate Change in the North Coast and the Delta.” Nile”; To protect the shores of the Nile River Delta in five coastal governorates, with a length of 69 km, through the use of natural materials from the surrounding environment, while involving the local community – especially women – in implementing the project in a way that ensures the sustainability of the project for future generations.

At the conclusion of the dialogue Dr. Sweilem stressed that the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is working to achieve sustainability in all the projects it implements, by studying the projects scientifically, laying foundations that take into account the technical, environmental, economic and social dimensions, and working to integrate beneficiaries into the water management process, ensuring the achievement of sustainability and the benefit of citizens from these projects.

Here, “Earth Guards” magazine extended its sincere thanks to the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation – Professor Dr. Hani Sweilem – for this dialogue, the parts of which were aligned and whose meanings were compatible, as it expressed in a comprehensive and objective vision the efforts made by the Egyptian government in its most vital sector, the water sector.