Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Egypt Does The Mediterranean A Favor


It's long been clear which side Egypt's bread is buttered on. The Red Sea side, with first-rate marine reserves like the legendary Ras Mohamed (pictured is an Arabian Picasso Triggerfish near the lighthouse at Ras um Sid).

But now Egypt's looking to spread the wealth in the form of a nearly 400-square-km marine park on its Mediterranean coast, at a place called the Gulf of el-Salloum. Says Reuters:

"Declaring this protectorate is a way to confront a host of environmental problems, such as soil degradation and coastal inundation, climate change and loss of biological diversity," [Egyptian Environment Minister Maged] George said in a statement, adding that the area was rich in natural resources.

The protectorate contains more than 160 migratory and local bird species, about 30 reptile and amphibian species and 10,000 to 12,000 marine species. Its creation should encourage scientific research on biological diversity in Egypt, he said.

No comments:

Post a Comment