Researchers from the University of Valencia, Spain have assessed the present status of the Egyptian MPA networks and shed some light on their strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, in the wake of the political events which have taken place over the last year in Egypt, and which still are continuing to unfold, the future of the country’s MPA’s are possibly even more at risk.

Corals = cash cows
The coral reefs of the Red Sea with its fantastic biodiversity have long been a favourite for diving tourists from all over the world, which have contributed huge sums of money to the Egyptian tourist industry. The report estimates the economic benefits of marine biodiversity, the revenues of marine activities and tourism, including diving, snorkelling and other activities, to more than € 3 / US$ 3.95 billion per year.
The report further outlines that the economic benefits of coastal–marine tourism in Egypt go well beyond the direct revenue generated by the dive operations. Hotels and resorts prosper from diver–related tourism, as do other service industries like bars, cafes, launderettes and Internet cafes. Therefore, calculating the total economic benefits of coral reefs from the tourism industry involves much more than simply adding up the number of reef–related tourists and the value–add of the scuba diving industry. The incomes from the economic activities brought by the marine tourism are nevertheless dwindling along with the overall decline in tourism to Egypt, due to the political situation in the country.
According to an article in the British newspaper The Guardian on February 3, 2012, the tourism minister, Mounir Abdel-Nour, recently said that the number of tourists who came to Egypt in 2011 fell to 9.8 million from 14.7 million the previous year. Furthermore, the revenues for the year were € 6.7 / US$ 8.8 billion compared with € 9.5 / US$ 12.5 billion in 2010. Hence, the coastal–marine tourism industry contributes between a quarter and a third of the total tourism revenues.

Under–resourced
Egypt has protected almost 10% of its oceans, and has gained a good reputation for its Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). However, a report shows that lack of management resources and funding and some impact problems, are threatening the gains made. Most of MPAs in Egypt are under–resourced, far below the norm for developing countries or even for Africa. The main limitations to effective management are considered to be the very low levels of government funding, the fewer staff than needed and a disparity allocation of both funding and staff. Inadequate management resources and poor infrastructure facilities are also important constraints. Moreover, the income of each MPA goes to a central fund in the NCS that subsidises other PAs in the whole Egyptian Pas network that do not generate funds. The five MPAs (of the Red Sea) can sustain themselves through tourism income, while the money reinvested in each MPA is less than 10% of what it generates. For instance, Ras Mohammed Marine Park generated about € 1,538,752 in finance year 2004–2005, of which only about € 156,060 was reinvested in the park.

Great biodiversity
Egypt has protected about 5,424.1 km² of the 56,981 km² of Egyptian marine territorial waters, a relatively small proportion (only 9.5%), which is under the 10% to 20% recommended by IUCN and others. Nonetheless, the marine environment boosts more than 5,000 species, including 800 species of seaweeds and sea grasses, 209 species of coral reefs, more than 800 species of molluscs, 600 species of crustacean and 350 species of Echinodermata. The Egyptian marine environment is distinguished by specific habitats and threatened species, especially coral reefs, mangrove trees, sea grasses, marine mammals (17 species), marine turtles (four species), sharks (more than 20 species), sea cucumber, bivalves, and many birds.

Main source: Status of marine protected areas in Egypt. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 34(1): 165-177, 2011.

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