Marine litter. Foreign bottles & cans galore- CC via Flickr/ Bo Eide
CAIRO- 29 January 2022: Under the title “sustainable management of Marine Litter on the Red Sea coast,” the Egyptian Ministry of Environment’s Central Administration of Coastal Zones and Lakes and Central Administration of Environmental Crises and Disasters, in cooperation with Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) organized on Saturday a workshop on the threat of marine litter to the ecosystems.
“The marine environment is one of the most important sources of our natural wealth, especially the Red Sea coast, which is a major source of eco-tourism for the regional countries bordering it,” said executive manager of the Environment Management body Ali Abu Senna said on behalf of Egyptian Minister of Health Yasmine Fouad at the event.
She added that the marine environment has recently witnessed a noticeable increase in the rates of pollution in all its forms, especially plastic pollution, which includes types that do not decompose and remain for thousands of years.
“This requires everyone to work together to face this danger,” she continued.
The UN Clean Seas campaign aims to eliminate the main sources of marine waste with a focus on ending the use of plastic and microplastics in cosmetics, said Fouad, adding that the campaign urges governments to adopt policies reduce plastic, especially in the field of Industry, re-design products and change consumption patterns to more sustainable patterns
At the national level, Fouad said that the Ministry has taken many measures to confront this environmental problem at all levels, throughout implementing many awareness campaigns about the dangers of marine litter for beachgoers, fishermen and workers.
She continued that it is scheduled to start a program for collecting the floating and submersible marine litter in the ports of Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh. She said that this program is funded by the Mediterranean action plan (MAP).
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