Dutch engineers, with the support of the Egyptian government, are involved in an ambitious project to turn the Sinai Desert green.
The Weather Makers, led by engineer Ties van der Hoeven say they aim to restore the water cycle of the Sinai Peninsula. Its regreening can positively influence the larger weather systems that cause extreme weather around the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
Restoring the water cycle in this area will have a big impact on Earth in rebalancing our climate, reversing diversification of the Mediterranean, providing water and food security to the local people, and improving the livelihood and prosperity of people, the company says.
Ties van der Hoeven believes the plan responds to a slew of critical global issues. “We are destroying our planet in a way which is scary,” he told CNN. “The only holistic way out of this situation is with large-scale ecological regeneration.”
Large-scale ecological regeneration isn’t without precedent. In 1994, scientists began work on transforming the heavily degraded landscape of the Loess Plateau in northwestern China.
Thirty years later, the Loess Plateau is green and fertile. Studies show that the large-scale restoration has significantly increased the region’s rainfall and the World Bank, which contributed roughly US$200 million in funds, reported that “even in the lifetime of the project, the ecological balance was restored in a vast area considered by many to be beyond help.”
The desert was once lush and verdant
As Geographical notes the Sinai Desert was once green. Evidence suggests that, as recently as 8,000 years ago, Africa’s Sahara region was an oasis of forests and grasslands. Shortly thereafter, over the space of a mere few thousand years, the region rapidly transformed into an arid landscape.
Ties van der Hoeven’s ambition is to bring the desert back to life. He has spent years fine-tuning an initiative to restore plant and animal life to roughly 13,500 square miles of the Sinai Peninsula, an area slightly bigger than the state of Maryland.
The ambitious plan includes treating wastewater and reducing pollution from nearby industries, creating habitats for wildlife, implementing sustainable fishing practices that protect aquatic populations, planting trees and shrubs to enhance the region’s biodiversity, and helping combat desertification.
The Egyptian government has expressed strong support for the project, recognizing its potential benefits for the country. They have been actively involved in providing land, resources, and regulatory support.
The government also sees the project as a means to promote sustainable development, improve food security, and address the challenges of climate change.
The goal of these efforts is to transform the barren desert landscape into a more sustainable and thriving ecosystem. However, it’s important to note that the project is ambitious and faces significant challenges, such as limited water resources and potential environmental impacts.
Challenges in regreening the Sinai Desert
So-called desert regreening projects are nothing new, and this is one of a number of ways to transform arid landscapes worldwide. Many aim to halt desertification—the creeping degradation of drylands—a phenomenon the United Nations calls a “silent, invisible crisis that is destabilizing communities on a global scale.”
The Sinai Peninsula is a desert region with scarce water availability. This poses a significant challenge for large-scale reforestation and agricultural activities. Desertification has led to nutrient-deficient and infertile soils, making it difficult to sustain plant growth.
Implementing and maintaining greening initiatives can be expensive, and it may be difficult to justify the costs in terms of economic benefits.