The decision marks a milestone in national efforts to expand marine conservation and promote sustainable development along the Red Sea.
Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of Environment, said the decree formally adds new marine territories to Egypt’s network of protected areas based on official maps and coordinates. The decree, she noted, completes a legal framework initiated in earlier decrees issued in 1986, 2003, and 2006.
According to the ministry, the new designation aims to protect the Red Sea’s unique coral ecosystem while supporting Egypt’s blue economy through sustainable tourism and environmentally managed development activities. Projects within the protected zone will be permitted under strict environmental regulations designed to safeguard natural resources and maintain long-term ecological balance.
The decree also tasks the governors of the Red Sea and South Sinai with managing and securing the protected area within their respective jurisdictions.
The ministry said the move builds on decades of conservation initiatives in Egypt’s Red Sea region, which is globally recognised for its rich marine biodiversity and one of the most resilient coral reef systems in the world. Over the past decade, Egypt has expanded protected areas, strengthened environmental oversight of tourism activities, and sought to align national development strategies with climate adaptation priorities.
Environmental experts say the Red Sea reefs are among the few worldwide showing resistance to rising sea temperatures and climate-induced bleaching, making them a critical ecological asset and a potential global model for reef conservation. At the same time, the region faces mounting pressure from tourism, coastal development, and maritime activities, increasing the urgency of improved governance and long-term sustainable management.
The ministry added that the announcement reinforces Egypt’s regional leadership in coral reef conservation and moves the country closer to integrating environmental priorities into national development planning, particularly as marine ecosystems face mounting climate pressures worldwide.
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