Egypt must go green to save Red Sea

By Joseph Mayton

The Red Sea's ecosystem is under threat from pollution and Egyptians refusing to accept there is an environmental problem.

The Red Sea is facing a crisis that could see much of its wonderful marine life cease to exist. Continued polluting of the water, constant oil spillage from offshore rigs and a lack of awareness in Egypt and around the region about the importance of maintaining vital ecosystems all contribute to the threat.

A few travellers passing through Cairo earlier this month sent me an email describing their disappointment at the diving they experienced off Egypt's top resort, Sharm el-Sheikh. What they saw was "completely a different scene" from their first visit in 2004. "The coral was turning grey and dying," they said.

Over and over I have heard stories from divers about the decaying state of the Red Sea's coral reefs. It is unfortunate, but true. No longer is the Red Sea a pristine location to witness the spectacle of marine life and coral reefs. One of the main causes is the constant pouring of waste from hotels along the coastal areas, but the tourism industry more generally has done further harm by pumping chemicals and other waste products into the sea. Resolving these problems is proving extremely difficult.

Not only are coral reefs under threat, but other marine life, too. Offshore oil rigs have been in the Red Sea waters for decades, but little has been done to ensure the equipment is up to date. These rigs stream a constant pool of oil into the sea. Ahmed el-Droubi of the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency (Hepca) told me earlier this year that much of the dolphin population has migrated further and further south as a result.

There are areas that are uninhabitable as a result of oil spillage, he said. Hepca has warned about the oil continually seeping into areas along the coast, including beaches, which have seen massive degradation in recent years. A major oil spill last summer showed the ugly face of offshore drilling – not only in the Gulf of Mexico – but here in the Red Sea.

The oil spread far and wide, according to reports, and even as the government claimed it had been contained, beaches continued to be flooded with it. Even today, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) told me that a number of the beaches are still "unsafe for tourism".

Read more...

Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images

Posted via email from