Red Sea Governorate Signs a Five-Year Deal With the National Marine Sciences Institute on Beach Pollution and Marine Surveys

Red Sea Governor Walid Al-Barqi has signed a five-year cooperation protocol with the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, aimed at protecting the marine environment along the governorate's coast and at developing fish stocks, Youm7 reported on Friday, 16 October.

It was signed with the institute's head, Dr Abeer Ahmed Mounir. Dr Ahmed Wahballah, director of the institute's Hurghada branch, attended. The protocol runs for five years from the date of signing and can be renewed by written agreement between the two sides.

What the protocol covers

• Environmental studies and marine surveys aimed at reducing pollution on the beaches, and study of the effects of climate change
• Technical support and scientific advice to the governorate on coastal protection, urban coordination and the sustainable development of natural resources
• Applied scientific solutions to environmental problems
• Awareness bulletins to raise public understanding of protecting the marine environment and the beaches
• Practical training for governorate staff in marine environmental monitoring and observation, and an exchange of training and administrative experience

The institute is also to take part in studies and projects that the governorate carries out or manages relating to coastal development inside its boundaries, and to support the work it is assigned under the agreement.

What it does not say

The protocol is a framework. The report gives no budget, no start date for individual surveys and no list of the beaches or reefs to be studied first.

For residents, dive operators and hotels, the practical point for now is which body will be doing the governorate's marine studies and advising it on coastal work for the next five years: the national institute whose Hurghada branch sits on this coast.