Ties van der Hoeven’s vision may sound like a bold dream, but it’s rooted in a deep sense of urgency. The Dutch engineer, driven by a concern for the deteriorating state of the Earth, has set his sights on one of the most challenging landscapes in the world: Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Once a verdant and thriving area, the land has now turned into a barren desert due to centuries of farming and human exploitation. Van der Hoeven believes he can restore this ancient ecosystem, bringing life back to an arid landscape and, in the process, tackling several global environmental crises.
The heart of his project is the idea of “large-scale ecological regeneration.” His aim is to revive 13,500 square miles of the Sinai Peninsula, an area comparable to the size of Maryland. This, he believes, could mitigate climate change by capturing carbon dioxide, increasing rainfall, and improving living conditions for local communities by creating jobs and producing food. “We are destroying our planet in a way which is scary,” he told CNN. “The only holistic way out of this situation is with large-scale ecological regeneration.”
Van der Hoeven’s background, rooted in hydraulic engineering, once had him working on high-profile construction projects like artificial islands in Dubai. But a pivotal shift in 2016 led him to collaborate with the Egyptian government to restore Lake Bardawil, a lagoon on the northern coast of Sinai. The lake, historically a rich fishing ground, had suffered from rising temperatures and increased salinity, making it inhospitable for marine life. He proposed dredging the lagoon to allow more seawater to circulate, cooling the waters and restoring its depth.
As he delved deeper into the project, van der Hoeven’s ambition grew. He noticed on Google Earth that the Sinai was crisscrossed with ancient river systems, now long dried up. It spurred an even larger vision: not only to rejuvenate the lagoon but to re-green the entire Sinai Peninsula. His plan involves transporting nutrient-rich sediments from the lake to the surrounding lands, using these materials to regenerate wetlands and eventually reforest the mountainous areas with salt-tolerant plants. He believes that this will trigger a positive feedback loop of increased vegetation, which in turn could bring more rainfall and change local weather patterns. “This could completely change the weather patterns,” he said.
Yet, such massive restoration projects are controversial. Critics argue that transforming deserts could have unintended consequences, particularly when it comes to water use and weather patterns. Alice Hughes, an assistant professor at Hong Kong University, points out the dangers of introducing non-native species or water-thirsty plants that might disrupt local ecosystems. She notes that similar efforts, such as the early stages of Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative, have struggled due to poor planning and lack of water. Even in the Loess Plateau, one of the most successful re-greening projects in China, there is evidence that vegetation is outstripping the region’s water supply. “Deserts actually cool the planet,” says Raymond Pierrehumbert, a professor of physics at the University of Oxford. Replacing reflective desert sands with darker vegetation could, paradoxically, warm the planet rather than cool it.
Despite the challenges, van der Hoeven’s optimism remains undimmed. Inspired by the successful transformation of the Loess Plateau, he argues that human-made deserts, like the Sinai, should be restored. “We should protect nature with all we have, but we should also restore nature with all we have,” he said.
The road to regreening the Sinai will not be easy. The Egyptian government signed an agreement to kickstart the restoration of Lake Bardawil by the end of 2022, but regional instability and the ongoing war in Gaza have delayed the project. Nonetheless, van der Hoeven remains convinced that his plan offers a path to long-term environmental and social stability in the region. With the world grappling with the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, he believes that bold solutions like his are not just necessary but urgent. “There is no time anymore not to act,” he insists.
