Plans to develop mass tourism on the Red Sea's Giftun island have been shelved -- for now. Yasmine El-Rashidi reports Talks surrounding the proposal by an Italian investor to transform Giftun island into a flashy, high-tech, Vegas-style tourist resort have been halted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, pending a "comprehensive study of all islands in the area". Announced by Minister of Local Development Mustafa Abdel-Qader this week, the decision brought to an end weeks of heated debate on the future of the 24 kilometre-long island off the coast of the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. The debate flared at the beginning of last month, when Prime Minister Atef Ebeid announced his meeting with a delegation of visiting Italian investors for the establishment of a "big project to develop one of the Red Sea islands". Before long, stories on the details of the plan, the island itself, and the finances behind the project hit the local press, leading to a global outcry among those familiar with the scenic diving-spot and retreat. Intended to tally investments of $2 billion within 10 years, the project proposal came as part of an effort to inject the local tourist industry with Italian investment. During the first meeting -- attended by Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui, Italian Ambassador to Egypt Antonio Badini and Red Sea Governor Saad Abu Rida -- the issue of abiding by the rules of environment protection was raised. Nevertheless, the profit potential of the project took precedence in the debate. "The venture will include a group of cultural, entertainment, sport and therapeutic activities that fall into line with environmental norms," El- Beltagui announced to the press following the 8 April meeting. While initial reports suggested that the island would actually be sold, wording was later refined to simply indicate "investment by a foreign counterpart". Still, the idea did not go down well. "The proposed project shocked all experts and workers in the field of tourism and environment," said Karim Helal, chairman of the Red Sea Society for Diving and Maritime Activities. "Giftun island is on a par with Ras Mohamed reserve in the Sinai and the Giza Pyramids. It is part of our heritage which we must preserve. The project would ruin the natural environment of the island, which is home to wonderful coral reefs, turtles and many kinds of birds." The island, along with its surrounding habitat and islands, has for decades attracted divers and holiday- makers seeking the peace and beauty of an unadulterated environment. Its natural beauty and diversity have long been protected by those who recognise the importance of this aspect of Egypt's heritage. "Similar projects have been proposed in the past, but they were scrapped when the region was declared a natural reserve," Salaheddin Hafez, former chairman of the Environmental Affairs Department in the Red Sea Governorate said. "Nothing has changed since then, so how can we dream of giving the green light to a project that would ruin this magnificent spot?" On countless Internet Web sites and discussion groups, thousands of protesters have voiced their fury, and debated both how to bring the government to resist, and why the country's leadership had failed to scrap the idea in the first place. "Money is not everything. This project will backfire," Marc Leimgruber, a regular visitor to Giftun, told Al-Ahram Weekly over email. "I come to Giftun because it is not developed. The thousands of tourists that go there each year do so for the same reason. By doing this the government will not only ruin the environment, but it will lose at least 10,000 tourists a year. Probably many more." "Nobody will come and stay in these hotels once the environment is destroyed!" wrote a diver on one of the Web sites. "All I have to say is NO," said another. Meanwhile, in Egypt, environmentalists were busy with their own efforts to have the proposal scrapped. "To the Government of Egypt," environmental activists Karim Helal and Samir El- Sombaty wrote in their online petition. "We are appalled and shocked at the news that a proposal to develop Giftun island by a group of Italian investors is even being considered." In just three weeks, the one-page document had garnered 8,230 signatures from around the world. Coupled with Abu Rida's firm stand against the project, the outrage expressed in the local media slowed negotiations down. By the end of last month, headlines read: "Italian investor compelled to stick to regulations stipulated by environment law on Giftun project." Minister of State for Environment Affairs Mamdouh Riad and Abu Rida had reportedly "prohibited" the Italian investor from undertaking any activities that would jeopardise the marine and ground environment on the island in order to maintain it as a nature reserve. Last week things took an even sharper turn -- the president's announcement coming after MPs Mohamed Abdel-Maqsud and Mohamed Saleh made urgent statements in parliament on 27 April, warning the government against putting up Giftun island for sale or foreign investment. Abdel-Qader said that the island is "the only breath of fresh air for all tourist facilities in the city of Hurghada", pointing out that around 3,000 boats are used for daily tours. The sale would mean the loss of billions of pounds spent on building tourist and hotel villages there, he said, adding that such development would inevitably lead to the destruction of the environment. The fate of the 36 islands in the Red Sea -- of which 22 are protected as natural reserves -- remains to be determined. While the government's present firm stand has been lauded, environmentalists say they are familiar with this scenario. "There have been such proposals in the past," Karim Abul-Magd, an environmentalist and geologist told the Weekly. "But it's always the same thing. Someone comes in, proposes something with all the zeros at the end, and our eyes open. It boils down to money. It is a fact: such large-scale construction will impact the environment. It's a black or white issue, there's nothing to discuss, and definitely nothing to study." Environmentalists and divers around the world are urging the Egyptian government to view the protection of the environment and the coral reefs as national priorities. "Unfortunately we have a tendency to realise the worth of something when it's too late," Abul- Magd said. "Look at Cairo. It was once an architectural masterpiece. We only started to see that when it was too late -- when we'd destroyed most of the old buildings, and suffocated the rest. I sincerely hope we've learnt a national lesson."
