In September 2013, Cyclone Daniel struck the eastern Mediterranean basin, affecting countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria. The storm then became the deadliest in Mediterranean history when it reached Libya, causing the failure of two major dams and washing out entire inhabited and agriculture-intensive areas.
Nearly two years later, the repercussions of this disaster in Libya are so severe as to threaten food security and biodiversity irremediably. Idriss Al Mahdy, Chairman of the executive committee of the Libyan Organization for Agriculture and Environment, describes the extent of the damage.
© NASA
There is a before Daniel Storm and an after, according to Al Mahdy. "We are still living with the effects of this catastrophe, which has completely changed the agricultural, environmental, and human landscape. The worst-hit region, Derna, is home to Al Jabal Al Akhdar, once one of Libya's richest regions in terms of fauna and biodiversity. The 2023 floods washed the topsoil down to the sea. This surface, the most fertile and richest in microbiological diversity, takes a very long time to form. It will, therefore, not be replaced in the foreseeable future. To illustrate the scale of the damage, Derna's beaches remained red for a long time after the floods."
The region is home to important agricultural production, including vegetables, fruits, cereals, and animal feed. Al Mahdy says, "We're talking about 40% of national vegetable production that disappeared overnight and 90% of fruit production. Since the storm, we now have to rely on imports to cover this deficit, with fresh produce from Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and African and European origins such as Spain."
© Copernicus
The crisis is becoming structural, affecting more and more regions of the country. Al Mahdy says: "We are still assessing the damage and studying changes in the environment and agricultural capabilities, in collaboration with international institutions such as the FAO. So far, the focus has been on civil engineering, and great progress has been made in restoring infrastructure. However, the more complex environmental and agricultural damage is already visible."
"We are observing the near extinction of several plants and manifestations of climatic phenomena linked to the Daniel storm, such as drought, the disappearance of grasslands, and locust invasions, whose geographical impact is increasingly widespread. In the Fezzan region, for example, which is very important for national agricultural production, we are seeing delayed harvests and locust damage, which proliferated after the storm. This region is a major growing area of dates, cereals, and arboriculture," Al Mahdy concludes.
For more information:
Idriss Al Mahdy
Libyan Organization for Agriculture and Environment
Tel: +218915661466
Email: libya.aeo.2017@gmail.com