From an innate care and concern for the Red Sea, a select few of the diving community initiated the installation of 50 buoys to protect the vulnerable coral reefs from anchoring. This led to the establishment of an environmental NGO known as HEPCA.

HEPCA was highly instrumental in establishing the Samadai Reef, a coral reef sanctuary for the Spinner Dolphins, as a marine protected area.

HEPCA and the community outraged over the pending sale of a Red Sea island that resulted in a monumental protest from both locals and internationals.

With an alarming decrease in sharks and a high value on their meat and fin, a ban was initiated to curtail the decline and bring awareness to protect this species as an essential element of an ecosystem.

As a popular scuba diving activity, the integrity of the wrecks in the Red Sea and their preservation were in jeopardy. This HEPCA campaign brings awareness to the necessary care for this major dive attraction as well as any negative impact it may have on the sea environment.

At the heart of HEPCA is the attention for the children of its country. For this reason, HEPCA enthusiastically paired up with VODAFONE in a community project to enhance and upgrade the facilities of select governmental schools in Egypt.

HEPCA takes over the management of the solid waste collection, disposal, and material segregation in Marsa Alam embarking on its commitment to clean up the Red Sea.

A conservation initiative to protect the native endangered dugong and turtle population and preserve this precious natural habitat.

HEPCA successfully obtains a new decree from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries which nullifies a previous decree that allowed the fishing and exporting of colored reef fish to Europe and other international markets.

The community campaign led by HEPCA bands together to bring attention to the negligence of oil companies drilling in the Red Sea and their lack of due diligence to clean up after an oil spill.

An unrelenting community-wide protest supported by HEPCA against a government approved power plant in south Sinai that threatened the livelihoods of the inhabitants as well as impose severe consequences to the environment.

HEPCA along with the Red Sea Governorate launched a tireless yearlong campaign to ban plastic bags and bring awareness of the negative impact on the environment.

HEPCA expands its operation in solid waste management with a material recovery facility.

An intervention was organized to monitor the research project of an artificial substratum, the only one of its kind in the Red Sea, led by HEPCA and other dive organizations.

An initiative by significant stakeholders led to a signed document known as the Hurghada Declaration to uphold sustainable fishing practices against the dwindling fish stock.

Coral bleaching monitored in a program that HEPCA along with the diving communities initiates together throughout the Red Sea coastal environment.

The CSP project acts as the first step in conservation which determines the most sensitive habitats and collect data on which resources and their conditions to proceed accordingly in HEPCA's collective efforts toward sustainability.

HEPCA assembles its red clad uniformed workers as it assumes complete responsibility of the solid waste management in Hurghada.

HEPCA led an initiative to cease and bring awareness to the destructive non-selective fishing technique known as long lining.

An awareness program developed that centers on a code of conduct when an encounter with a dolphin in their natural habitat occurs.

Dolphins is the basis of a research project that focuses on the existing species in the region for knowledge to further efforts in protection and conservation of the Red Sea and its natural resources.

With looming coastal development, HEPCA launched an ongoing program to bring attention to the endangered species and what to do if encountered in their natural habitat.

HEPCA supports the tradition of the women in the tribal Bedouin communities of the region with branding, marketing, and developing their inherent skill in handicrafts.

HEPCA's aim in the HAFAFIT Wells Project that built over 25 eco-homes and wells for fresh water pumped by solar energy is to serve the community with basic needs for survival.

This awareness campaign addresses the issue of overfishing at the exquisite underwater site of the national park, Ras Mohamed.

Future Egyptian Environmental Leaders (FEEL) is an exciting educational initiative designed as an eye opening experience for the youth to learn the importance of environmental conservation.

With the threat from excessive daily boat trips and the over exceeding boat capacity, HEPCA overtakes the management of Samadai Reef.

The mooring system expands to the Sinai region with 70 new moorings in Sharm el Sheikh.

HEPCA patrols the water on a daily basis to monitor and report any negative impacts to the sea and its marine life.

A state of the art science facility opens in Port Ghalib to further on-going and new research in areas of preservation and conservation of the Red Sea and its natural resources.

HEPCA's Bio-boat, the newest platform to further its conservation efforts through education targeting the children and the youth of the Red Sea region is here. Funded in part by the U.S. Forest Service, is currently being outfitted as a mobile science classroom.

Through our program on restoration of the exploited marine species, HEPCA scientific team with the support of LIFE Red Sea 2 (Project funded by USAID) succeeded to induce the spawning and raising larvae in two species of Tridacna (T. gigas and T. squamosa), for the first time in the middle east. More than 150,000 juveniles of Tridnca of 1-2cm shell length are available in our hatchery.

The Tridacna & the sea cucumber are among the most extensively exploited invertebrates in the Egyptian Red Sea due to over and bad fishing practicing. The program objectives include:

• Introducing and improving techniques to induce spawning and rearing larvae of the exploited marine species, as the milestone to restore and farm these species.

• Restoring exploited species due to over and bad practicing fishing activities

• Improving livelihood of the local community with emphasis of the fishermen community by creating income alternatives from green farming of the exploited targeted species

• Providing training to raise the capability of the local community to manage and run green farms of the targeted exploited species

For this purpose, HEPCA Education and Training Center was provided with all necessary facilities including: wet laboratory of almost 100m3 volume (spawning and rearing tanks of different sizes, mechanical and biological filters, pumps, algal cultivation room with light and controlled temperature) as well as biological and chemical laboratories.

HEPCA efforts to sustain the conservation of Red Sea environment was culminated with the inauguration of the recycling plant in Hurghada in an attempt to preserve the Eco system and benefit from managing the Solid Waste of the city that is from 350 – 450 tons a day in the most efficient way.

The Solid Wasdte Management Plant is equipped with the latest and most advanced and machines used in the Netherlands and Germany, with a capacity of processing 400ton solid waste a day to suit the needs of the Red Sea governorate.

The operational process goes through five fazes, it starts with waste weight, then it goes through filtering room to separate organic products, plastic, metal, and paper. After the filtering each pack is condensed, wrapped, and distributed to reproducing factories within Egypt.

HEPCA’s started the first Solid Waste Management in Hurghada on the 10th February 2011. The first phase entails waste collection from the entire city, HEPCA has committed to assume responsibility for waste collection in Hurghada aiming to expand its activities to encompass a comprehensive solid waste management system to be applied in the Red Sea that includes everything from material recovery, to recycling, to proper disposal and potentially the collection of landfill gas and electricity generation.

Due to the significant environmental damages resulting from the expansion of the single use plastic which leads to the killing of hundreds of thousands of mammals, birds, and fish globally and for sure the Red Sea has its own share, HEPCA acted on submitting a proposal to H.E. General Ahmed Abdullah - Governor of Red Sea to ban the single-use of plastic, hence, the decree no. 167 for year 2019 was issued effective June 1st.

The decree is to protect the threatened and endangered species which are severely affected by ingestion, starvation, suffocation, drowning, entanglement and toxicity from plastic remains that affects the human health accordingly.The ban of the single-use of plastic bags will apply on any food related outlets within the Red Sea like Restaurants, Coffee shops, Supermarkets, Groceries, Butchers, Fisheries, Fruits and Vegetables shops and Pharmacies, and will also ban single-use plastic cutleries used in food and beverage in Restaurants & Coffee shops as well as Safari and daily boats such as knives, plugs, plastic hooks, cups and dishes except for the usage of the heavy duty garbage bags.

In addition to the above, the Red Sea governorate will not give authorization for plants to produce plastic bags within the city.

HEPCA launched an awareness campaign about the negative impact of plastic on marine life and human health, in addition to on ground activation with events, giving lectures/workshops for public and private schools, clean-up campaigns for islands, beaches and underwater in collaboration with schools, diving centers, and the red sea community.

Our campaign also targeted hotels and resorts in the region to support and encourage reduction of plastic usage in those facilities. In collaboration with Red Sea Hotels, Grand Siva hotel has been certified by HEPCA as the first hotel in Hurghada to apply this strategy in 2018. Our aim is to spread it all over the Red Sea.