Environmental Assessment of Marine Natural Resources in the Gulf of Salloum Marine Protected Area
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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF MARINE NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE GULF OF SALLOUM MARINE PROTECTED AREA With the financial support of With the partnership of MedMPA Network Project Legal notice: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) and UN Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of SPA/RAC and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Copyright : All property rights of texts and content of different types of this publication belong to SPA/RAC. Reproduction of these texts and contents, in whole or in part, and in any form, is prohibited without prior written permission from SPA/RAC, except for educational and other non-commercial purposes, provided that the source is fully acknowledged. © 2019 - United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia [email protected] For bibliographic purposes, this document may be cited as: SPA/RAC - UN Environment/MAP, 2018. Environmental assessment of marine natural resources in the Gulf of Salloum Marine Protected Area. By Abd El-Warith M. S., Fouda M. M., Allam K., Issawi M. M., Anter M. S., Bessar M. H., Al-Sadiq A. M., Abdel-Azim I., Kamel M. F., Abdel-Wahab A. A., Kheriji A. and Limam A. Ed. SPA/RAC. MedMPA Network Project, Tunis: 27 pp + annexes. Layout: Zine el Abidine Mahjoub, www.zinetoon.com & Asma Kheriji, Associate Project Officer - MedMPA Network (SPA/RAC). Cover photo credit: © SPA/RAC, EEAA. The present report has been prepared in the framework of the MedMPA Network project financed by the European Union. For more information: www.unepmap.org www.spa-rac.org Environmental assessment of marine natural resources in the Gulf of Salloum Marine Protected Area MedMPA Network Project Study required and financed by: MedMPA Network Project Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia [email protected] In charge of the study at SPA/RAC • Dr. Atef Limam, Project Officer - MedMPA Network • Ms Asma Kheriji, Associate Project Officer - MedMPA Network In charge of the study at the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) • Dr. Ahmed Salama, Head of Nature Conservation Sector (NCS) • Dr. Khaled Allam, Head of Central Department of Biodiversity • Mr. Mohamed M. Issawi, General manager of the Northern Protected Areas • Mr. Mohammed Said Abd El-Warith, marine environmental researcher In charge of the study at the Ministry of Environment • Prof. Mustafa M. Fouda, Advisor for Environmental Minister of Biodiversity and Marine Environment Participants in the assignment • Dr. Atef Limam, Project Officer - MedMPA Network • Dr. Ahmed Salama, Head of Nature Conservation Sector (NCS) • Dr. Khaled Allam, Head of Central Department of Biodiversity • Mr. Mohamed M. Issawi, General manager of the Northern Protected Areas • Dr. Mohamed Samah Anter., manager of Geology Department • Mr. Mohamed S. Abd El-Warith, marine environmental Researcher (NCS, EEAA) • Mr. Mohamed H. Bessar, manager of Salloum MPA (NCS, EEAA) • Mr. Ahmed M. Al-Sadiq, manager of Abu-Galum MPA (NCS, EEAA) • Mr. Ismail Abdel-Azim, manager of Nabq MPA (NCS, EEAA) • Mr. Mahmoud F. Kamel, environmental Researcher (NCS, EEAA) • Mr. Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Wahab, environmental Researcher (NCS, EEAA) 2 © SPA/RAC, EEAA, 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The present study has been prepared under the accordance to the Egyptian law for natural protectorates cooperation agreement between the Egyptian (102/1983) by prime ministerial decree no.533/2010 Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and the Specially upon the request of the minister of Environment. Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) in Noteworthy the various legal statuses, at national level, the field of conservation of marine and coastal biological in favour to the protection of the site, such as: Law diversity in the Mediterranean marine part of Egypt. 4/1994 for the Protection of the Environment, amended It has been elaborated within the framework of the by Law 9/2009, and Law 124/1983 regulating fisheries. regional project “Towards an ecologically representative and efficiently managed network of Mediterranean This field survey was carried out from 1 to 10 December Marine Protected Areas (MedMPA Network Project)”, 2017. The study required several stages, including financially supported by the European Union. coordination with the relevant national agencies, field survey, and interviews with the different stakeholders. The MedMPA Network project aims at improving the effective conservation of important Mediterranean A number of marine species were recorded. The survey features of coastal and marine biodiversity through the included coastal and marine plants, algae, fish, marine establishment of a network of marine protected areas invertebrates, aquatic birds, stranded marine animals, (MPAs) in the region in accordance with the Barcelona etc. to update and compare with the species recorded Convention Protocol concerning the Specially Protected in the previous studies, taking into account the climatic Areas and biological diversity in Mediterranean (SPA/ conditions during the survey period and the security BD Protocol). This would effectively expand the existing situation of the surveyed areas. The covered long network to include Mediterranean priority areas and transect in survey were in average distance of 1000 m assist countries in implementing priority elements of from the coastline in both sandy and rocky bottom. the Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation Biological diversity in the Mediterranean region through The study showed that the Gulf of Salloum is exposed providing technical and financial supports to enable from the landside to many of the risks that threaten activities at national, sub-regional and regional levels. the area and its biodiversity, in particular: unregulated hunting activities, and irresponsible coastal and urban The preparation of this study «Environmental development. The pollution with solid waste from land assessment of marine natural resources in the Gulf sources is currently considered one of the major critical of Salloum Marine Protected Area» comes within the factors affecting the environment and the resources of framework of achieving the requirements of preparing a this area. management plan for the Salloum MPA, and integrating it with the «Socio-Economic Assessment Study» which It is important that the Salloum Gulf area, including its has already been prepared in the MedMPAnet project, marine and coastal ecosystems, must be managed to include all the social, economic and environmental to insure the implement of the conservation and factors of the protected area in the management plan sustainability principles. This requires the provision of the MPA, then present it to the different stakeholders of human and financial resources needed to achieve in order to involve them in the preparation and adoption the main objective of Salloum MPA declaration and to of the management plan at the national level. protect the cultural heritage of the local community as well as the establishment of basic infrastructure for The main objective of this study is to implement a rapid field work within the MPA. assessment for the current status of the marine natural resources in Salloum marine protected area through a More recommendations to ensure the well management 10-day field survey. It included a review and update of the of the area could be: implement of a periodic monitoring lists of biological species, a topographic characterization, programme for the MPA; raise the capacity of the and an identification of the threats facing the MPA. This rangers and environmental guarders of the northern led to establish channels of communication between the protected areas in the field of marine monitoring and MPA and the local community by involving them during diving activities; further implement programmes for the preparation of this study. the protection of marine biodiversity and habitats components in the Egyptian Mediterranean water and The Salloum MPA was declared in the 27th of February continue the cooperation with SPA/RAC. 2010 as the first MPA on the Mediterranean in Egypt, in 4 CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 7 2. AIM OF STUDY .................................................................................................................................................. 9 3. MeTHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 11 4. ENVIRONMENTAL assessMENT OF MARINE NATURAL resOUrces IN THE GULF OF SALLOUM MariNE PROTECTED Area ............................................................................................................................. 13 4.1. Gulf of Salloum Marine Protected Area .......................................................................................................