Bedouin Adaptation to the Last 15-Years of Drought (1995–2010) in the North Coastal Zone of Egypt: Continuity or Rupture?

•Bedouin tribes in Egypt have to face rapid changes of their social and natural environment.•Their adaptive processes are embedded in their social organization.•The Bedouin are capable of adopting a wide range of activities.•Livestock remain their main social net safety.•The development of tourism threatens the integrity of the Bedouin territory.

SummaryFollowing the tribal allocation of land in the 1920s and the development of agriculture in the wadi area, the last six decades have seen the settlement of the majority of Bedouin tribes in Egypt. In the two last decades, the Bedouin in the Coastal Zone of the Western Desert had to cope with a severe 15-year drought combined with major changes in link with tourism, urbanization, and agricultural development. Using data collected in surveys and interviews, we show that the adaptive processes of the Bedouin are embedded in their social organization and in their ability to adopt new activities.