Egypt is expanding efforts to protect mangrove ecosystems along the Red Sea coast, combining environmental conservation with sustainable economic opportunities for local communities.
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Swailem visited mangrove restoration and cultivation sites in Hamata, Marsa Alam, on Saturday, highlighting the importance of these ecosystems in protecting coastlines, supporting biodiversity and boosting communities’ resilience to climate change.
Swailem stressed the need to integrate mangrove conservation with community participation and sustainable income-generating activities, including ecotourism.
During the visit, the minister inspected mangrove cultivation areas in Wadi El-Gemal Protected Area and took part in completing planting activities under a project designed to develop a participatory model for mangrove restoration as a nature-based solution to climate change.
Implemented by the American University in Cairo in co-operation with several partners, the project seeks to restore mangrove forests and develop related economic activities in collaboration with local communities in Hamata and Safaga.
The initiative has so far planted 50,000 trees, with each tree estimated to absorb between 350 and 400 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
Swailem directed the Shore Protection Authority to assess the feasibility of planting mangroves at selected locations along the Red Sea to protect beaches and roads from tidal waves.
Mangrove forests play a vital role in carbon storage, coastal protection, providing habitats for fish and supporting biodiversity.
