Welcome to the new HEPCA web site! We hope you like our new look and find all the information you need here. We have expanded our content and also made it easier to read with an enriched design and more graphics.

We will be developing the web site continuously over the coming few months so please keep checking back for updates. Our aim is not only to keep you informed about HEPCA, but also to provide a one stop resource for environmental and conservation information relating to the Red Sea.

We will be adding lots more functionality in the future including research documents and downloads. Save HEPCA's website in your Favourites and visit us regularly to keep updated.

The HEPCA Official Dive Guide to the Red Sea is coming soon. This exciting new publication offers detailed dive site briefings and maps to 51 of the most popular dive sites in El Gouna, Hurghada and Safaga.

First published in 1998, the original version was a best seller that covered Hurghada and Safaga only. Now the Dive Guide is to be re-launched with brand new content and a new modern look, as well as the addition of top sites in the El Gouna area of the Red Sea.

The Dive Guide will be available to purchase at the end of the summer from HEPCA Members. It will also include an electronic copy of all the content on the book on CD-Rom. The Dive Guide will be published in English, German, French and Russian.

The Abu Dabab Conservation Initiative is well under way. HEPCA is working with diving centres, fellow environmental agencies, the Red Sea Governorate, and the National Parks Authority of Egypt to protect the native endangered dugong and turtle population and preserve this precious natural habitat.

Marsa Abu Dabab, one of the most popular diving spots in the south, is home to the majority of dugong sightings in the Red Sea. The sheltered and sandy bay of Abu Dabab offers many ideal conditions as a dugong habitat, including one of the largest patches of seagrass in the region. The Bay is also well known as a nesting site for sea turtles.

The delicate habitat of Marsa Abu Dabab is at considerable risk from building developments; herbicidal run-off from landscaping projects; and chemical and biological pollution from boats. Dugongs and turtles are also vulnerable to damage from passing boats and getting trapped in fishing nets. There is also considerable stress caused to these creatures by the many hundreds of divers, snorkellers and swimmers who visit the Bay every day.

In January 2007, HEPCA and its partners met to discuss the urgent measures required to protect the unique environment of Marsa Abu Dabab and its inhabitants. A detailed action plan and proposed management strategy was produced that was delivered to all parties this May for consideration.

The primary actions from the first draft of the plan have already been taken. These include securing a new zoning line that prevents boat traffic inside the Bay, and the removal of moorings to stop overnight stays by safari boats. In addition, safari and daily boats are no longer allowed to send divers and snorkellers inside the Bay.

Currently the only access to the Bay is from the shore. Over the next few weeks, further zoning will take place with buoys positioned to stop access completely to the sea grass area. The number of divers, snorkellers and visitors to the Bay is also being carefully controlled. Two rangers are to be positioned at Marsa Abu Dabab for the foreseeable future to ensure these restrictions are met.

In addition, HEPCA and its partners (including the resident Orca Dive Club) have launched an awareness campaign that will help to educate not only visitors to the Red Sea, but also their guides. New signs with an eye-catching design draw attention to the plight of the dugongs and turtles and encourage people not to touch them.

The Initiative has been the spur to a sighting and mapping project that will collect much-needed data about the resident dugong population for scientific and environmental research.

You can read more about the Abu Dabab Conservation Initiative in the latest edition of H2O Magazine.