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Dugong feeding at the seabed, Red Sea. Dugongs live in various locations around the globe this slow swimming vegetarian sea mammal along with its American relative the Manatee is severely threatened with extinction.
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Silt runoff from irresponsible construction projects, sewage discharge
and outright bull dozing are daily taking their toll on these natural
treasures. Already some 3 million cubic meters of coral reef has
been land filled, and vast new seaside construction projects are in the
works. The entire south coast from El Quseir to Marsa Alam is
basically being parcelled out for development with no real
environmental oversight.
Elsewhere along Egypt's coast the picture is much brighter, thanks to substantial marine reserves. One positive example, the Ras Mohammed national park, has become a world famous dive destination and its network of marine reserves has created increased income from tourism, fishing and other sustainable uses while helping preserve the reefs and other habitats. In fact, its success convinced the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency to demand the protection of all Egypt's coral reefs.
And yet, the wanton overdevelopment goes ahead. Therefore, as part of the Defending Our Oceans tour the Esperanza is in Egypt supporting the work of a local environmental group, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). HEPCA gets its name from the city of Hurghada - which has a population of 250,000, some 2.5 million visitors each year, and a tragic recent history of destructive costal development along its fringing reef.
We aim to help HEPCA insure long-term planning, conservation and sustainable development wins out over short-term greed. To that end, HEPCA is inviting all stakeholders, such as potential future tourists, to sign the El Quseir Charta acknowledging that we all share responsibility for our marine habitats. If you plan to visit Egypt you can also help by practicing responsible diving; and asking hotels, tour operators and dive centres what they are doing to ensure the natural beauty you are visiting for will be there for future generations.
See the Red Sea slideshow.
Elsewhere along Egypt's coast the picture is much brighter, thanks to substantial marine reserves. One positive example, the Ras Mohammed national park, has become a world famous dive destination and its network of marine reserves has created increased income from tourism, fishing and other sustainable uses while helping preserve the reefs and other habitats. In fact, its success convinced the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency to demand the protection of all Egypt's coral reefs.
And yet, the wanton overdevelopment goes ahead. Therefore, as part of the Defending Our Oceans tour the Esperanza is in Egypt supporting the work of a local environmental group, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). HEPCA gets its name from the city of Hurghada - which has a population of 250,000, some 2.5 million visitors each year, and a tragic recent history of destructive costal development along its fringing reef.
We aim to help HEPCA insure long-term planning, conservation and sustainable development wins out over short-term greed. To that end, HEPCA is inviting all stakeholders, such as potential future tourists, to sign the El Quseir Charta acknowledging that we all share responsibility for our marine habitats. If you plan to visit Egypt you can also help by practicing responsible diving; and asking hotels, tour operators and dive centres what they are doing to ensure the natural beauty you are visiting for will be there for future generations.
See the Red Sea slideshow.
Protect Red Sea coral (HEPCA's website)
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