Egypt Coastal and Marine Economy - Climate Change Risk and Sustainable Planning - Background Note

Jul 19, 2026

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The background note outlines how climate change threatens Egypt’s coastal and marine economy by affecting sea level, extreme events, and related infrastructure and ecosystems. It connects physical hazards with anthropogenic pressures such as pollution, unmanaged waste and runoff that increase vulnerability and marine degradation. The note reviews sector risks across fisheries and aquaculture, coastal tourism, ports, offshore energy and minerals, and desalination, emphasizing adaptation and mitigation actions. It further highlights priorities and the Blue Economy Strategy to strengthen resilience, coordination, regulation, monitoring, and nature- and engineering-based solutions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Climate change Risk to Coastal and Marine Economy

3.1. Fisheries and Aquaculture

3.2. Coastal Tourism

3.3. Ports

3.4. Offshore Energy and Minerals

3.5. Desalination

4. Planning for Sustainable Coastal and Marine Economy

5. Priorities of Coastal and Marine Economy

6. Blue Economy Strategy

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disc losure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized EGYPT CCDR Background note Costal and Marine Economy 1 Rama Chandra Reddy Tarek A. Temraz Dahlia Lotayef Iryna Payosova 1 The team would like to express its gratitude for the important and timely contribution of the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Strategic Partnership for Egypt’s Inclusive Growth Trust Fund, which provided funding for the analysis conducted for this paper. Table of Contents Executive Summary..............................................................................................................2 1. Introduction................................................................................................................3 2. Climate change Risk to Coastal and Marine Economy..............................................6 3. Climate change Risk to Coastal and Marine Economy..............................................9 3.1. Fisheries and Aquaculture .................................................................................................9 3.2. Coastal Tourism .............................................................................................................. 14 3.3. Ports................................................................................................................................ 18 3.4. Offshore Energy and Minerals ........................................................................................ 22 3.5. Desalination.................................................................................................................... 25 4. Planning for Sustainable Coastal and Marine Economy ........................................ 28 5. Priorities of Coastal and Marine Economy.............................................................. 30 6. Blue Economy Strategy ........................................................................................... 33 Executive Summary Sustainable coastal and marine economy of Egypt relies on healthy and resilient ecosystems that ensure food and nutritional security, contribute to welfare of coastal communities, generate employment, sustain infrastructure, and promote value addition to the national economy. Climate change is a major risk to Egypt’s coastal and marine economy. Sea level rise, extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and dust storms have negative impacts on coastal infrastructure, tourism, transport, ports, logistics and ecosystems. Anthropogenic pressures such as unsustainable land use, pollution from agricultural and industrial activities, unmanaged solid waste and waste water runoff increase vulnerability of coastal and marine natural capital to climate change. Egypt ranks seventh among the top 20 marine-polluting countries worldwide highlighting the need to minimize pollution resulting from anthropogenic activities. Coastal and marine economy supports diverse economic activities such as fisheries and aquaculture, coastal tourism, ports, offshore energy, mineral resources, and desalination. Climate change is a major risk to the stability of fisheries and fishing communities. Sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture is contingent on investments to improve resilience of fishery value chains. Coastal tourism is a major source of revenue estimated at US$7 billion per year and accounts for half of Egypt’s tourism revenue. A major share of coastal tourism revenue is attributable to reef tourism. Loss and damage of coral reefs from climate change impacts adversely impact tourism revenue. Climate action in support of coastal tourism needs to include both mitigation and adaptation measures. About 90 percent of Egypt’s international trade is seaborne and relies on 60 seaports. The Suez Canal is a key global trade route accounting for about 12 percent of the world sea trade. Port operations are sensitive to climate change risks such as se

FAQs

What are the main climate change risks to Egypt’s coastal and marine economy?

Sea level rise and extreme events such as floods, droughts, and dust storms negatively affect coastal infrastructure, tourism, transport, ports, logistics, and ecosystems.

How do anthropogenic pressures increase vulnerability in coastal and marine areas?

Unsustainable land use, pollution from agricultural and industrial activities, unmanaged solid waste, and wastewater runoff heighten the vulnerability of coastal and marine natural capital to climate change.

What actions are prioritized for building a sustainable coastal and marine economy?

The note emphasizes policy and regulation, enforcement, monitoring, and investments in engineering and nature-based solutions, supported by strong coordination and capacity among public and private stakeholders, including Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Marine Spatial Planning.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Noah