The Red Sea is a diverse and fascinating ecosystem. Even as one of the most saline water bodies in the world, it supports thousands of marine organisms. In fact, more than 10 percent of them are exclusive to this exotic place. The coral reefs that extend throughout most of its perimeter, make it possible for it to support a great diversity of organisms. Therefore, it is no mystery that more than half a million divers come from all over the world to encounter the beauty of the Red Sea, and most of them repeatedly. They create jobs and generate much-needed hard currency for the Egyptian economy. However, there is another side to the story. In a survey conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Swiss Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Science Group stated that 50 percent of the tourist divers, and 80 percent of the diver operators are starting to notice a significant amount of dead corals in their dive sites. With Coral Reefs being the single biggest motivator for tourists coming to the region according to the same survey, people are starting to be wary. So what has been killing the marine coral reefs so drastically over the past few decades? The answer is a complicated multi-faceted one, which I would discuss in this article. In three letters, it is MAN. Since its inception in 1869, the Suez Canal was one of the best shortcuts in shipping. Ships that had to maneuver around the Cape of Good Hope save a lot of time by coming through the Suez Canal in Egypt. Even the high fees associated with their passage were not a big problem; last year more than 17 thousand ships carrying more than 550 million tons of cargo passed the canal. The Suez Canal and the Red Sea are a critical navigation point for international trade. More than 7 percent of world shipping passed through the canal, and in doing so passed the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Four and a half million barrels of oil passed through it, out of a daily global production of 80 million barrels. Moreover, the Gulf of Suez produces about 60 percent of crude oil production in Egypt from over 130 offshore oil platforms. More than 800 km of seabed pipelines transport this oil to the surface. This encourages oil refineries to be established in the region. The lively sea route established was a bonus, and the area became a hub for industrial activity, representing fertilizer, oil refineries, chemicals, and many other production industries. The fragile balance between the vulnerable ecology of the region and industrial developments is in danger. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) generated a report to address the different impacts of the pollution in the area. What they found was an astonishing burden placed on the ecology by the industrial and tourism activities. The fastest growing threat to the region comes from tourists, who are drawn in large numbers by the great weather and exotic coral reefs. Although the supporting facilities and required infrastructure for their enjoyable stay play a role in environmental stress on the marine ecosystem, the single biggest threat comes from their sheer ignorance. Rookie divers, frequently kick up sand, step on coral, and actually break off pieces of living coral as souvenirs. Diving clubs, eager to make the tourists happy, do not enforce rules critical to the sustainable use of the corals. Even if divers behave appropriately, the sheer number of divers causes the rapid degradation of the coral reefs. Not only rookies are to blame. Coral photographers, in their passion to get the best pictures, try to get very close to the corals. As they are often distracted by their equipment, they fall into some of the rookie mistakes, and inflict over two-thirds of the damage, despite accounting for less than one-fourth of the dives. The tourists are not the only people to blame for the decline of the marine habitat. The extensive oil exploration, drilling, and production of oil in the region have pumped, intentionally or unintentionally, several thousand tons of oil into the Red Sea. In a study performed in 1999 in Sharm El Maya Bay on the Gulf of Aqaba, the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) measured was close to 300 parts per billion (ppb), while at control sites the number is closer to 35 ppb. At Ain El Sukhna it was concluded that the region is suffering from extensive chronic pollution inputs from the Suez Mediterranean Pipeline (SUMED), especially at the receiving terminals. Industrial activities in the region are contributing their fair share into disrupting the marine ecology. In one of the cases, a fertilizer company uses freshwater for cooling their equipment and discharges 60 million liters of low saline water per day. The discharge is loaded with ammonia, phosphate and nitrate in addition to certain heavy metals, such as copper, lead and zinc. The results of a study* of heavy metal concentrations in the live tissue of marine organisms showed that in more than 32 percent of fish (mullet and sardine), 2 percent of crustaceans (crabs and shrimps), and 22 percent of cephalopods (cuttlefish and squid), mercury levels were higher than the prescribed legal limits. Risk groups, which are mainly pregnant women and small children, should be aware of the risk of heavy metal toxicity. In conclusion, laws must be passed and legal measures taken to prevent the pollution of the Red Sea in general and the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba in particular. A focus should be put on eliminating the discharge of effluent from “dirty” industries, such as fertilizers and cement. Tourists must be made aware of their impact, and the number of dives limited to within the sustainability threshold. All entities and individuals must take responsibility for their actions and their consequences. It is ironic that the Egyptian-Israeli conflict in region, which prevented the industrial and tourism development in the area and closed off the Suez Canal, was at the same time protecting the environment from the meddling of man. As soon as peace was established, our “peace activities” are starting once again to deface the ecology of the region. Eco Options Egypt
