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Success Story
Local businesses
embrace guidelines to
safeguard coral reefs
along the Red Sea coast
Protecting Egypt’s Coral Reefs
Photo: Mahmoud Habeeb
Eco-tourism companies in the Southern
Red Sea region report success with
implementing the USAID-developed
strategy to protect the coral reefs.
“Since starting the program,
there has been more than
a 20 percent decline in the
number of people walking
on the reef,” said Mahmoud
Azizz, Environmental
Manager for an eco-resort on
Egypt’s Southern Red Sea.
Egypt’s world-class coral reefs are both an ecological treasure
and a major tourist attraction, but the reefs are threatened
by heavy tourist traffic and lack of environmental protection.
USAID developed and helped implement an environmental
management system in order to help the Red Sea region protect
the reefs.
“Since starting the program, there has been more than a 20
percent decline in the number of people walking on the reef,”
said Mahmoud Azizz, Environmental Manager for an eco-resort
on Egypt’s Southern Red Sea.
The reefs are one of nature’s gifts to the Southern Red Sea
coast. They harbor extensive marine life and are a major
attraction for snorkelers and SCUBA divers. Due to the influx
of tourists visiting the region, the reefs are a primary source
of jobs and income throughout Egypt and are a major impetus
for international investment. The entire region depends on the
health of the reefs, as well as the marine life living in the reefs.
Resorts, dive centers, and other tourist-centered companies in
the Southern Red Sea Region are using the USAID-developed
Manual for Best Environmental Practices for House Reefs on
the Egyptian Red Sea. As a result of introducing measures
of environmental protection to local organizations, guests are
being informed of regional guidelines to protect the environment
and systems are being put into place to ensure that staff at
resorts and tourist attractions understand and promote these
practices.
Because of the spread of information about reef protection,
results, such as those seen by Mahmoud Azizz, are being
measured and the reefs are thriving. The USAID program also
includes monitoring routines that help each resort or business
understand exactly which system works best and why. Business
managers can then make adjustments to the program that will
increase its effectiveness in not only protecting this valuable
resource but also in ensuring the reefs’ benefits to Egyptians.
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