Friday 24/October/2025 – 12:53 PM
Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of the Environment, directed the need to maximize the use of natural resources and achieve a balance between preserving biodiversity and coral reefs and encouraging sustainable ecotourism in the South Sinai and Red Sea reserves.
The Minister stressed that the Ministry signed a cooperation protocol with the Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities, with the aim of preserving reserves and the coral reef environment, which will reflect positively on the experience of visitors interested in practicing marine activities such as diving and snorkeling.
This came during the Minister’s meeting with Mustafa Hefny, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Diving Tourism and Marine Activities, Saber Al-Kilani, Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Environment Committee, and Karim Yasser, Member of the Board of Directors, to discuss ways of cooperation in preserving Egypt’s natural resources in South Sinai and the Red Sea, in the presence of Dr. Ali Abu Sunna, CEO of the Environmental Affairs Agency, Hoda Al-Shawadfi, Assistant Minister for Environmental Tourism, and Dr. Walid Rashad, Head of the Financial and Administrative Affairs Sector. Major General Khaled Abdel Rahman, Head of the Nature Protection Sector, at the Ministry of Environment headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.
A campaign to clean the beaches of the Red Sea
The Minister also directed the implementation of a comprehensive campaign to clean the beaches of the Red Sea in cooperation with the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, Hotel Establishments Chambers, Diving and Marine Activities, to preserve the beaches and their abundant coral reefs and unique biological diversity.
Diving Chamber: We support the Ministry’s decisions
For his part, Mustafa Hafni, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Diving Tourism and Marine Activities, affirmed the Chamber’s full support for the Ministry of Environment’s decisions aimed at protecting natural reserves in South Sinai and the Red Sea, noting that the Chamber has installed 84 sundews in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Hafni reviewed the Chamber’s efforts in monitoring and tracking the cruises of tourist boats and implementing training courses for divers to familiarize them with sound environmental standards while practicing diving and snorkeling, stressing the sector’s commitment to participating in the country’s efforts to preserve coral reefs.
