Since August 2009, the Egyptian government has granted HEPCA sole responsibility for the management of waste collection and recycling in the southern Red Sea, an area roughly double the size of The Netherlands. Even in these first few months, the scheme has achieved some incredible results – proof that recycling really does make a difference and dramatically helps to reduce daily damage to the environment.

Our Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Marsa Alam city is the hub of the HEPCA solid waste management strategy. Waste is collected and separated at source into organic and non-organic matter before being transported to the MRF. Here, the vast majority of the waste is non-organic and it is sorted, processed and traded through to recycling firms. We also manage and operate a controlled dumpsite for non-recyclables. Organic waste is given to the local community for animal feed.

Our latest figures show an outstanding success rate at the MRF in helping to reduce the Red Sea’s carbon footprint:

PAPER

Each month we recycle more than 8.5 tonnes of paper and cartons, saving:
- 145 trees
- 34 barrels of oil
- 25 cubic metres of landfill space
- 34,000kw hours of energy
- 59,500 gallons of water.

Simply put, the monthly HEPCA recycled paper total saves enough energy for heat, electricity and air-conditioning for the average Egyptian home for almost 30 months!

ALUMINIUM

Each month we recycle more than 41,500 cans, saving
- enough energy to run a television, or operate a computer for 14 years, or a computer centre with 20 computers for over one year.

GLASS

Each month we recycle at least 6000kg of glass, saving
- enough energy to power a computer for 296 days, a 100-watt light bulb for 5.93 years and saves the equivalent of 272 litres of oil.

PLASTIC

Each month we recycle almost 259,000 plastic bottles and parts saving
- enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 89.9 years.

STEEL and TIN

Each month we recycle an average of 4.5 tonnes of steel and tin saving
- 24.9 tonnes of iron ore, 14 tonnes of coal, and 1.2 tonnes of limestone.

Greenhouse gas emissions result from the burning of municipality solid waste and are strongly influenced, in particular, by the plastic content of the input waste stream. Each month, the recycling and reuse of this waste by the HEPCA MRF saves around 65 tonnes of CO2 pollutants from entering the atmosphere of the Red Sea!

Our solid waste management strategy is not only concerned with saving the environment but also saving livelihoods. Many valuable employment opportunities have been created for the local community in waste collection, transportation and staffing at the MRF. Further employment and income is also generated through the selling on of recyclable material. We estimate an additional 70 jobs will be created annually in support of this program.

HEPCA would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the solid waste management strategy and in particular the MRF in Marsa Alam. This scheme is a tremendous achievement in helping to keep the Red Sea clean and addressing climate change in Egypt. We look forward to announcing developments elsewhere in the Red Sea soon.

HEPCA divers have completed a pioneering mooring project in Aqaba, Jordan. Leading marine conservation organization, The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (PERSGA), commissioned HEPCA, in cooperation with the Marine Parks Authority of Aqaba, to install a mooring system that covers more than 26 dive spots. The project also encompasses a zoning system for swimmers and watercraft.

HEPCA is extremely proud to have been chosen by PERSGA as the implementing partner for this significant project, which aims to spread a best practice mooring culture throughout the entire Red Sea region.

PERSGA is an intergovernmental body dedicated to the conservation of the coastal and marine environments found in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Gulf of Suez, Suez Canal, and Gulf of Aden. PERSGA’s member states include: Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

We would like to thank PERSGA for initiating this project and for their ongoing support. Special thanks are also due to the Aqaba authorities and the local diving operators in the Aqaba region for their part in ensuring the success of this project.

HEPCA looks forward to continuing to contribute to this positive technology transfer amongst neighbouring countries and communities in support of the growing environmental consciousness throughout our region.

BleachWatch Egypt seeks volunteers for reef monitoring program

What is BleachWatch Egypt?

BleachWatch Egypt is a community based coral reef monitoring program that acts as an early warning system for potential coral bleaching events. Trained volunteers report back on the health of their local reefs and the information is used to track bleaching events and other environmental damage.

BleachWatch Egypt is part of the Climate Change and Coral Reefs Project – a unique partnership between HEPCA, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and leading travel and tour operator Kuoni Travel Ltd.

What’s the point? Coral reef bleaching is irreversible – right?

Wrong! Well… bleaching is technically reversible but corals can potentially suffer mass mortality following bleaching events.

You see… corals live in symbiosis with a single celled algae called zooxanthellae. Bleaching is a natural response to environmental stress (most often unusually high water temperature as a direct result of climate change). The coral polyps expel their colourful zooxanthellae and as a result lose their colour and turn transparent and what can be seen is the white calcium carbonate skeleton of the animal. When corals are stressed and expel their zooxanthellae they can lose more than 90% of their food supply. If the zooxanthellae are not regained the coral will starve and die.

Even though coral bleaching events may be caused by increases in temperature and UV radiation that are difficult to control locally, other manmade threats increase the probability that corals bleach and die. Such threats include pollution, freshwater runoff, sedimentation and disease. By monitoring coral reefs we can try to better understand the patterns of coral bleaching, help find out what makes some corals survive, and minimise, where possible, local threats that exacerbate the situation.

Where is the monitoring program happening?

BleachWatch Egypt is being launched this month at the Red Sea Diving Safari in Marsa Shagra, and will be introduced soon after to El Quesir, Lahami, St Johns and Wadi El Gimal.

A team of volunteers recently received BleachWatch training as part of Climate Change workshops in Hurghada and Marsa Alam, but we need more volunteers! We aim to cover all of the Egyptian Red Sea and so all diving operations and resorts that are interested should contact us.

Who can volunteer?

Everyone! That is everyone who regularly visits our coral reefs and is in a position to receive a short informal training and fill in an occasional simple report. The training will give you insight into marine and coral ecology and will be an invaluable way to contribute and support the health of your favourite dive sites.

We welcome applications from individuals who are divers, snorkelers or regular water users, as well as dive centres and other organisations who are interested in passing on their knowledge of the program. BleachWatch makes a great interactive educational tool for diving and snorkelling guests.

Great! How do I get involved?

Simple. Just send an email to bleachwatch@hepca.com to register your interest and we’ll get in touch with you soon with more information and to arrange your training.

You can also find out more about Bleachwatch and the Climate Change and Coral Reefs project at www.hepca.com/projects and www.iucn.org/marine

Visit Hepca on Facebook, facebook.com/hepca

HEPCA, Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association, announced today that the Red Sea is now officially a TBT-free zone.

Following a decree from H.E. Eng. Magdy El Qubaisy, Governor of the Red Sea, it is now prohibited to sell or use any kind of paint materials containing the chemical compound Tributyltin (TBT).

This chemical has been commonly used in anti-fouling paints that protect ship’s hulls from unwanted marine growths. However, it has been strongly linked to damage and death of marine life, as well causing harmful effects to the environment and wider public health. This decree follows similar legislation throughout the world.

Please ensure that you now purchase TBT-free paints only. This decree also enforces the marking of all such paint containers with the TBT-free sign.

RESOURCES:
HEPCA website
HEPCA fans page on facebook

A new report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization has said that tourism is rising in Egypt. The report also said that investing in property in the North African nation “could be good news.”

According to the U.N. tourism organization, tourism in the country increased by 20 percent during 2007, which in turn has seen a rise in property demands.

“This is excellent news for the buy-to-let market,” said Marion Isom in a statement on behalf of La Siesta Tourism and Real Estate Services.

“Tourism figures always have an effect on the property market of a region and this rapid growth in interest in this amazing country is a welcome step forward,” Isom added.

Tax incentives for foreign investment put forth by the Egyptian government could benefit the continued rise of Egypt’s most lucrative industry, the U.N. report said. It added that Cairo is doing a lot to encourage international companies and individuals to take advantage of the new tax laws to purchase properties here.

Cairo, the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada remain the top spots for foreign travelers.

Introducing CVBase

Welcome to CVBase, the most reliable recruitment and job finder service in Hurghada and Red sea.
This is a free service from Hurghada Today magazine where you can publish your CV and get connected to companies in and around Hurghada.
Apply now and get your CV published on our magazine in few hours.

What to do

Fill out this quick application.
Send your CV by mail to cvbase@hurghadatoday.com

How it works

Once we recieve your application, one of our editors will review data and publish it on (we will send you its link in a mail).
You have to send your CV in a single file (pdf or word format) to cvbase@hurghadatoday.com

Terms and conditions

This service is available only in The Red sea area for both citizens and residents.

Help and support

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please contact us, or write directly to cvhelp@hurghadatoday.com

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jregpHCcys]

About

Emperor Divers has provided top quality diving holidays in the Red Sea since 1992. Superior customer care is our ethos and you can relax knowing that all your diving needs will run smoothly and that the instruction from the training arm of Emperor Divers – Emperor Scuba Schools – is second to none. The Schools include PADI 5 Star CDC (Career Development Centers), which means we are certified by PADI as providing the highest standard of education and professionalism, borne out by the ‘PADI Excellence in Dive Centers Award’.
Your hotel choice ranges from the Hilton to the Tropicana chains. Details of each hotel are on the resort pages and whichever Emperor resort you stay in, you’re well placed for both the diving and the hotel!

Contact

General reservations
Tel +20 12 2340995
(From UK direct: 07005 946937)
9.00am – 4.00pm
Costs:
37.5p pm Mon-Fri (BT 129p pm)
12.5p pm Sat-Sun (BT 99p pm)
reservations@emperordivers.com

Hurghada Centre
Tel +20 65 3444854
Fax +20 65 3444854
info.hurghada@emperordivers.comSharm El Sheikh Centre
Tel +20 69 3601734
Fax +20 69 3601735
info.sharm@emperordivers.com

Nuweiba Centre
Tel +20 69 3520695
Fax +20 69 3520327
info.nuweiba@emperordivers.com

Marsa Alam Centre
Tel: +20 12 7372126
Fax: +20 65 3700432
marsa.alam@emperordivers.com

Safaga Centre
Tel: +20 12 238 5762
Fax: +20 65 3444854
(mark Attn: Safaga DC)
info.safaga@emperordiv

WEBSITE: http://www.emperordivers.com/

For many Europeans, traveling to the Red Sea for scuba diving is like many North Americans going to the Caribbean. For a scuba diver based in North America or anywhere else outside of Europe or Africa, a journey to the Red Sea is considered one of the more exotic scuba diving trips. Like other overseas travel, getting to the final destination is the hardest thing. The Red Sea can be dived from ports in both Egypt and Israel but most international scuba divers do so from the Egyptian side. There are two major scuba diving areas in Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Sharm El Sheikh at the northern part of the Red Sea is the more established center having been a popular vacation resort area as both Egyptians and Europeans have been vacationing here for many years. The local scuba dive industry grew along with the overall steady growth of classy resorts, shops and other tourist services in Sharm El Sheikh. Hurghada, once just a sleepy fishing village along the west side of the Red Sea, is starting to grow as scuba divers discover this alternative to Sharm El Sheikh.

More than likely, travelers going to either Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada will have to fly to Cairo before connecting with Egypt Air or taking a bus to their final destination. Many scuba divers turn their Red Sea diving trip into a major extended holiday in order to both dive and see the many wonderful ancient Egyptian sites such as the pyramids. There are many things to see and do in Egypt in addition to the ancient ruins including museums, markets and Nile river cruises. So it is highly recommended to do some research and plan accordingly for any trip to Egypt as one would not want to run into the situation where not enough time was allocated to see everything one wants to see there in addition to scuba diving.

Many of the scuba operators in Sharm El Sheikh are affiliated or close by to a hotel resort. Most of the dive shops are actually owned and staffed by Europeans working in Egypt. This is similar to the situation in the Caribbean where many of the scuba operators there are American owned. The Red Sea has a higher salt content than Caribbean waters so it is recommended to add 4 to 5 more pounds to the amount of weight divers usually use. Like most European diving, the scuba community here in Egypt uses the metric system so weights will be in kilos while air pressure will be in bars. Most dive computers should be able to display both metric and imperial systems.

Many scuba operators in Sharm El Sheikh use a very interesting system for scuba tanks. Rather than using their own tanks, their dive boats go to a common central barge anchored in the harbor. This is where all the scuba tanks are supplied from and the dive boats collect the number of tanks they need for day’s dive trips. At the end of the trips, used tanks are dropped off at the same barge before heading back to port.

The majority of the dives in the Red Sea are semi drift dives where the dive boats drop off divers at the dive sites and then pick them up afterwards. One very different aspect of the Red Sea compared to other dive destinations in the world is that the coral reefs here can extend up to very shallow depths. As a result, the standard safety stops at 15 feet are done drifting among many of these sloping reefs along with the accompanying marine life. Therefore, these are some of the most scenic safety stops scuba divers will ever do. This is certainly different from the usual bland safety stop in the Caribbean. One thing to note is that the maximum allowable depth for recreational scuba divers in Egypt is 30 meters which is about 90 feet.

As expected, the marine life in the Red Sea is spectacular. There are many species of fish, crustaceans and marine plant life here that are not found in the Caribbean. In fact, many of them are indigenous to the Red Sea only. While lionfish can be extremely rare sightings elsewhere, they are quite abundant in the Red Sea which is a real treat for scuba divers. It is also not unusual to jump in the water to be among a large school of tuna or other fish. Many night divers will see coral reefs here to be more spectacular than in the Caribbean.

For many scuba divers, the Red Sea is one of those ‘must dive at least once in a lifetime’ destinations. It is a very unique place to dive especially with the desert background visible from the dive boats. The excellent diving with the many awesome sights of Egypt make the Red Sea a dream dive trip for any scuba diver.