Samadai Project

Last Update: 08 September 2012

Samadai Project

In 2001, HEPCA, the EEAA and the National Parks Authority of Egypt, signed an unprecedented agreement that represented the first case in Egypt of cooperation between a NGO, the private sector and the National Parks. This cooperation resulted in the establishment of a new protected area, the Samadai Reef.

Because of its history, location and ecological role Samadai reef is one of the few well known cetacean hot spots in the Southern Egyptian Red Sea. Located a few miles offshore Marsa Alam, it has been under investigation for almost a decade, with the first effective conservation and research efforts promoted in 2003 amidst community’s urges to understand more about the site and protect this extraordinary resource from unsustainable practices.

Nowadays HEPCA carries out regular monitoring in Samadai in order to eventually enhance its value as a protected area and, possibly, plan similar initiatives in other sites.

Since November 2011, the Samadai Project is done in cooperation with the Rufford Small Grants Foundation, please have a look at the page they dedicated to the project!

This section of the website will provide you with the information needed to fully appreciate our effort, please browse the subsections (“overview”, “mpa” and “research”) and do not hesitate to get in touch with us for further information.