Egyptian Government's Efforts to Sustain Natural Resources

            The Nile River has served as Egypt’s lifeline for centuries, supplying water to the civilizations that flourished along its banks throughout history. Today, nearly 90 percent of Egypt’s 68 million people live on 5 percent of the land area along the Nile Valley. A rapidly growing population is now posing a daunting challenge for Egypt to boost the productivity and sustainability of its water use. With 70 percent of the poor living in rural areas, boosting water use efficiency could result in substantive increase of on-farm and off-farm income and employment. This is why the Egyptian government was approved an US$120 Million dollar loan. With this loan the Egyptian government will start a project called the Integrated Irrigation Improvement and Management Project, which will aid efforts to  sustain natural resources, both land and water.