CELA 2013 Conference Abstract
The Red Sea is a unique environment, with deserts rich in history abutting a sea whose remarkable coral
reefs are among the best in the world. With its striking environment and touristic potential, sunny
climate, and short flight distance from major cities in Europe, this provided tremendous potential for
economic development Unfortunately, the area’s resources have not yet been utilized to their full
potential. The earliest tourist development (in the 1980s and 1990s) cantered near Hurghada has
suffered from destruction of the fringing reef, coastal filling and excavation, and construction of mass
tourism hotels, resulting in loss of much of the coral reef and marine contamination.
Innovative initiatives have taken place in order to protect the remaining parts of the red sea (From
Marsa-Alam city Southward) including several guidelines by the Red Sea Sustainable Tourism Initiative (RSSTI) in 2000-2004 that focused on developing ecotourism and coastal planning for the region, followed by another pilot program named Livelihood and Income From Environment (LIFE) in 2005-2008 which supported implementing pilot projects in national parks to demonstrate examples of the appropriate process. Since 2008 to date there has been several initiatives to introduce sustainable
practices (e.g., Solid Waste Management, Mooring Buoy practices) lead by local NGOs.
These efforts have resulted in some small improvements, but the basic the development patterns have changed little and not the anticipated widespread improvement. We identify these main obstacles: (i)
An institutional problem wherein the responsible tourism and environment ministries do not coordinate
with each other nor with other stakeholders, (ii) Practitioners use architectural and development
models adopted in the Nile Valley, rather than adapting local practices to develop an architecture truly
appropriate to the the Red Sea, and (iii) A lack of the understanding of the terrestrial and marine
systems (i.e. drainage, soil, marine life, and terrestrial habitat) has helped make inappropriate land
subdivisions and development in vulnerable areas.
We recommend the following to resolve these complex problems:
(i) Elevate the planning exercise above the ministry level, so planning need not be constrained by the
portfolio and priorities of any one ministry, as currently the case.
(ii) Improve education in the architecture and planning professions so that practitioners are prepared to
incorporate appropriate planning tools and building technologies in this unique environment, rather
than attempt to copy from precedents in western countries.
(iii) Develop land-use suitability maps at scales appropriate to guide development at the parcel scale.
Amir Gohar and Mathias Kondolf
