MIDEASTENVIRONET - The Middle East Environmental Network

A prime attraction for divers worldwide and a key resource for tourism,
Aqaba’s diving sites that contain some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs, are
drawing criticism from several groups that expressed shock and dismay at
their current condition.

In letters addressed to clubs in the area, several diving groups said the
quality of certain dive sites was seriously affected by litter, while others
wrote that they were looking to other destinations for future dive holidays.
“All of our group had good words to say about you and… the people of Jordan…
but are unlikely to come back to Jordan for a diving holiday,” wrote British
diver and reef conservationist David Prentice, following a diving expedition in Aqaba.

“Both divers and snorkellers were disappointed in the quality of the dive
sites [for coral and fish] and angry about the general condition of the reef and
shore as far as litter and pollution are concerned,” he added. With
extensive experience in reef conservation work around the world, Prentice acknowledged
the challenges facing the Kingdom in this regard, but expressed concern for
the future of diving centre businesses in five years time unless conditions were “improved quickly”.

A hotspot for thousands of Jordanians during the weekends, the southern
shoreline is a key part of the problem. The beach is often littered with all
kinds of rubbish by the end of the day — from cigarette butts, soda cans and
plastic bags, to diapers, charcoal and even, on one occasion, the carcass of
a goat — which find their way into the sea.

Although the Royal Marine Conservation Society (JREDS) and other
community-based organisations conduct periodic clean-up campaigns to prevent additional
damage to the marine habitat, the problem prevails due to the lack of public
awareness and weak enforcement of regulations.

JREDS Executive Director Fadi Sharaiha, who has led several awareness and
clean-up drives in the area over recent years, said attempts to change
public behaviour and understanding of the environment has been a challenge.

He acknowledged that the majority of the public have no regard for the
conservation of the coral reef or the state of the public beach.

“We have done a lot over the past few years to step up awareness about the
environment and the importance of the coral reef, but this has been
difficult,” said Sharaiha.

“Trying to change the mindsets of some of the older generation is as good as
hopeless, that is why we are focusing our education programmes on young
people,” he added.

An authority in marine environment, JREDS has been working with kindergarten
students as well as police and environmental rangers operating under the
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and the Aqaba Marine Park.

Even these efforts, he said, are a drop in the ocean for the change needed
to produce results.

“As a nation, we have a problem when it comes to maintaining public places,”
Sharaiha said.

“We need to educate people on the importance of the environment and its
impact on tourism life and future. We’re working with youth clubs as well as
rangers and advocating for changing laws,” he added.

Sharaiha said the problems exists at various levels, starting from the
regular citizen all the way to those responsible for enforcement.

Currently, ASEZA and environmental rangers are responsible for monitoring
violations and are authorised to issue fines.

Those littering can be fined between JD20-JD25, while Article 25 of the
Environmental Protection Law stipulates a minimum penalty of JD10,000 for
damaging coral, but it is usually never enforced, according to observers.

There have been some positive steps, however, with ASEZA undertaking
awareness efforts and preventive measures to protect the marine habitat.

For example, fishing within the marine park area has been banned and ASEZA
is raising awareness on the importance of marine life in schools and with the
concerned authorities. A coral replantation programme is also under way in
the northern coast of the port city.

Sarah Lyle, a diver and underwater photographer from Ireland who has been
travelling to Aqaba since 1998, commended these efforts.

But she expressed concern about the inadequate efforts to solve the problem
of littering.

“The coral reefs in Aqaba are almost unique in the Red Sea in that they have
not been devastated by over-diving, but from the level of rubbish that is being
left on the beaches,” Lyle told The Jordan Times.

“Without the pristine reefs, diving tourists will stop coming to Aqaba and
probably opt for the cheaper, more accessible Egyptian Red Sea resorts,” she
added.

Lyle said ASEZA should be praised for the trash bins placed on the beaches,
but added that “their efforts would be better spent educating people not to
litter in the first place”.

Divers also raised concerns regarding their safety, citing the dangers posed
by fishing and glass-bottom boats in the area.

In a petition to one of Aqaba’s diving clubs, a group of Italian and British
divers said the small fishing boats that come too close to shore could
“injure or even kill people and scare tourists who are here to enjoy the beauty of the
reef and are obliged to risk their safety to do so”.

Lyle said glass-bottom boats had sailed over her on two occasions at the
entry/exit point of her dive without any regard for her or others in the
water.

She noted similar threats from waves caused by the ferry to Nweibeh,
suggesting that a regulation be enforced to oblige these ferries to reduce their speed and
alter course to minimise the effects, as well as carry warning signs alerting
water users about strong swells when they pass.

A British tourist who took a trip on a glass-bottom boat last month, noted
that he saw “more discarded cans on the seabed than fish and healthy coral”.

But the tourist was even more shocked when the boat struck a reef and broke
off bits of coral a number of times during the trip.

JREDS worked with owners of 70 glass bottom-boats on safety regulations and
awareness against littering last year.

But for now divers and observers are wondering when there will be serious
efforts to address these issues, with one remarking that it would probably
take a fatal accident to prompt the required action.