Ban on decorative plants in Egypt

On Sunday, Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, announced water conservation and specifically banned growing decorative plants. It was a rare official admission that Egypt is facing a water crisis. Some attribute Egypt’s dwindling water supply to population growth and others to the construction of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam at the headwaters of the Nile. Marco Werman interviews professor Elfatih Eltahir about water security and the possibility of shortages in Egypt.

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