What happens when Egyptian ingenuity meets European research? A glimpse of the future of water sustainability in Cairo’s Nile corridor.

In mid-May 2025, the Desert Research Center and the NICE project came together to spotlight Egyptian-led innovations in nature-based solutions (NbS) for water reuse. During the WEFE Nexus in Egypt and the MENA Region Conference, Professor Mohamed Elhagarey (Desert Research Center) presented two key technologies developed and piloted in Egypt:

• A Soil and Water Management for Rice (SWMR) system designed to conserve nutrients and irrigation water in rice cultivation.
• A subsurface irrigation system using porous pottery drippers and a hydraulic backflow control valve, which supports fully automatic, self-compensating water delivery with no added energy, ideal for arid environments.

The second technology is now part of the NICE NbS pilot at URL10 in Cairo, where it supports the reuse of treated Nile water for agriculture. Combined with a hybrid constructed wetland planted with Cyperus papyrus, the system demonstrates effective microbial and chemical contaminant removal while drastically reducing the cost of irrigation water, up to 20 times less than conventional drinking water.

These solutions use natural materials and local substrates, helping to reduce CO₂ emissions from material transport and enabling ecosystem-based water treatment and reuse strategies in densely populated, water-scarce settings like Cairo.

Professor Carlos Arias of Aarhus University visited the Cairo pilot site and praised the Egyptian team’s leadership in adapting Danish-inspired wetland design to local conditions, saying the work “demonstrates real-world potential for decentralised, affordable water reuse solutions in extreme climates.”

The NICE project is proud to support Egyptian and international collaboration on NbS that are not only innovative, but essential, for a more resilient, water-secure future.

Explore the NICE pilot in Cairo for yourself.