To Enhance Integrated Coastal Zone Management.. Governor of Damietta Issues a Regulatory Decree for Construction Standards within the Coastal Zone

As part of national efforts aimed at protecting Egypt's coastlines and strengthening their resilience against climate change, Prof. Dr. Hossam El-Din Fawzy Abdel Fattah, Governor of Damietta, has issued a regulatory decree regarding the procedures and standards for establishing any projects within the governorate's coastal zone, specifically within 10 km of the shoreline.

This strategic decision serves as a significant outcome of the activities under Component Two of the "Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation in the North Coast and Nile Delta Regions" project—specifically the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plan—which is implemented in collaboration between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with funding from the Green Climate Fund.

The decree aims to establish a precise institutional and regulatory framework that ensures compatibility between urban development and the preservation of natural resources, in alignment with ICZM plans. The local Coastal Zone Committee in the governorate will be responsible for enforcing these standards to ensure the application of scientific and environmental criteria in all projects executed within the coastal zone, thereby directly contributing to mitigating risks associated with sea-level rise.

In the context of implementing this decree, the Governor of Damietta has tasked Eng. Mohamed Kamal El-Daly—Project Climate Ambassador, Director of the Environmental Administration at the Governorate, and the Governorate’s Coordinator for the Local ICZM Committee—with strictly supervising the implementation of these procedures and standards, while ensuring periodic progress reports are submitted to the Governor regarding the achievements made in this vital file

Project management stated that this measure represents a qualitative step in activating risk-based planning policies. It further underscores the commitment of Damietta Governorate to implementing project outputs in enhancing the coastal areas' adaptive capacity, which supports the sustainability of economic investments and population centers in the Delta.

This cooperation stands as a vivid model of the success of the project’s Component Two activities in building local capacity and unifying working mechanisms between executive and research entities, ensuring a safer future for Egypt's coastlines amidst global climate challenges