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A Sustainable Future for Marsa Abu Dabbab
By Abdelrahman Abdelmoneim
It was during the summer of 2007 that I first visited the beautiful bay of Marsa Abu Dabbab, located on the Egyptian coast of the southern Red Sea. There are very few bays like it in the region and it is considered one of the most popular attractions in Marsa Alam.
My first impression of the place was not all that great. It looked like your typical Red Sea Beach resort; crowds of sun worshipers sprawled along the water's edge. The bay is surrounded by 3 hotels and almost every diving and water sport center within a 50km radius is offering this site as part of their program. It is very common to have up to 500 people in this bay on a daily basis.
Amongst the crowd of swimmers and divers it was hard to imagine we would see anything at all. We geared up on the beach and our group of 6 listened to a briefing by Red Sea Diving Safari Manager Julien Stein. Julien has been working with the RSDS team for over 7 years and has been diving here over 100 times. He was clear that we were to keep at least a meter distance from the turtles and dugong at all times and absolutely no touching.
We entered the bay from the south side along the reef wall, which to my surprise was extremely rich and pretty well intact. As we followed the reef wall we made our way towards the center of the bay where the patches of sea grass are found. We wandered a bit and observed many marine critters like the guitar ray, garden eels, box fish and many other species that call this sea grass home.
We continued on and shortly afterwards saw a large round shell begin to appear in the distance. As we approached we saw another and then another; three giant green turtles gracefully munching away on sea grass.
Being my first time this close to a giant green turtle I could hardly contain my excitement. I sat there for a time looking into its eyes and admiring its graceful movements. There were 3 remoras permanently attached to it and patches of algae also growing on its shell. It struck me that this entire eco-system was just teeming with life; from the corals, to the sea grass beds, to the very backside of this turtle.
I must have sat there for a good 5 minutes before I was interrupted by the familiar sound of a shaking rattler. I followed the rattle towards the rest of my group and lo and behold the giant dugong. He was a true giant at least 2 meters long surrounded by divers in every direction and a group of snorkeler's directly above.
Despite the dive being one of the most fascinating experiences of my life, I remember feeling suffocated by the mass of people wanting to share a moment near this beautiful giant. It's hard to imagine what these animals must be feeling by the splashing crowds of tourists all around them every day.
The last time I visited Marsa Abu Dabbab was in October 2009. My sister and her 3 year old daughter were visiting me from California and I promised them an encounter with turtles. We arrived at the bay and snorkeled out together until we found them. We hovered above them for some time and suddenly, one of them ascended for breath less than a meter away from my 3 year old niece.
Looking back now, it saddens me to think that when she returns again the turtles of Marsa Abu Dabbab may no longer be there.
I was about her age when my father first exposed me to the marvels of the Red Sea. That experience never left me and it was one of the main reasons why I decided to live out the rest of my life here.
I believe that there are moments you share with nature that are priceless and an integral component to a balanced and healthy life.
But what do I know right? Like all things in the Red Sea tourism industry the primary motive is profits. And so controversy brews once more in the south with the recent announcement of a new megalithic project in Marsa Abu Dabbab dubbed "The Journey," brought to you by Concord for Tourism Development S.A.E.
On February 14, 2010 Concord for Tourism Development S.A.E. held a public hearing in Hurghada and revealed their development plans for the Marsa Abu Dabbab project.
Extracts taken from their promotional video "The Voyage" - Marsa Alam
"…internationally renowned restaurant, food and beverage outlets, retailers, cinemas and gourmet markets, as well as a host of other venues of every description.
This is where travelers will be entertained by stage shows, musicales, parades, dinner shows and live musicians from around the world…a multi-sensory experience that will compliment the resources offered by the Marsa Alam Oceanographic institute; a museum of Egyptology and education center that will all be part of the Voyage… three 5 star hotels including a Hilton and Marriot…and in the future a sports complex…sparkling lagoons will host vessels of every size and description…
A modern coastal resort entertainment complex…the very threshold of Marsa Alam's future…"
One of the more controversial items was their plan to create artificial lagoons by diverting water from the bay into the "wadis." This will be accomplished by creating 15m wide channels leading to large lagoons, which will be dug out just behind the bay of Marsa Abu Dabbab. The investors claim that 30% of the water in the lagoons will be circulated daily to ensure that it doesn't become stagnant, and that they have some of the leading environmental experts overseeing development of the project.
But there are many people, particularly in the diving community that are completely against the project. They have been voicing their concerns about the impacts this mass development will have on the turtles of Marsa Abu Dabbab;
"What's happening in Marsa Abu Dabbab is nothing new. It's exactly what we have seen happening the last 20 years all over the Red Sea coastline. We have managed to convince the investors to minimize development in the bay, but they are still planning on creating massive artificial lagoons.
The fringing reef along the entire southern coastline which prevents access to the sea has always been a problem for this type of tourism. The bay of Marsa Abu Dabbab is a precious natural resource that must be carefully managed. The bay has a carrying capacity that has already been exceeded and they are planning on building another 5,000 rooms and a marina that can accommodate 120 boats.
We are talking about a very delicate and intricate eco-system and disrupting it in any way may cause irreversible damage.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how this project will affect the bay of Marsa Abu Dabbab."