KNIGHT

Strengthening resilience to geo-hazards and climate challenges along the Nile Corridor is the main objective of KNIGHT (Knowledge Base for Nile Geo-Hazards Tackling). The project will specifically address disaster risk reduction and emergency management through the adoption of innovative methodologies and technological solutions, the definition of shared good practices and guidelines, and by fostering technology transfer and cooperation among the scientific community, institutions, and professionals.

The KNIGHT partners are the DIA - Department of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Trieste, the Municipality of Lignano Sabbiadoro and Shoreline Soc. Coop in Italy, Damietta University - Faculty of Science and the NRIAG - National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics in Egypt. The collaboration among partners will allow sharing of datasets, which will be analysed, harmonised, and integrated into a GIS-based platform. This will facilitate the identification of areas most exposed to anthropogenic and/or natural stressor, and hence more vulnerable, as well as the assessment of natural hazards and of potential cascading risks, with the aim of mitigating their impacts.

The three main activities envisaged within the KNIGHT project are the following. First, the development of a comprehensive data and knowledge base for the integrated assessment of geophysical and environmental risks in selected sites along the Nile River, including the delta and surrounding coastal areas. At the same time, new methodologies will be tested for the definition of integrated multi-hazard scenarios and for environmental monitoring at key sites along the Nile corridor, ranging from the Aswan Dam to the coastal areas of the delta, with special emphasis on the Damietta area, a city of significant economic and social relevance.

Finally, the project aims implementing specialised training activities, technology transfer initiatives, citizen science actions, and awareness-raising campaigns. 

Altogether, these activities will lead to the development of tangible and forward-looking outputs: the creation of a structured data and knowledge repository and the development of shared guidelines aimed at enhancing the resilience of natural and environmental assets in the target area, a region where natural events and climate change can significantly affect socio-economic development.

The KNIGHT project is part of OGS’s broader framework of international cooperation initiatives in the Mediterranean region.