Eco-Tourism with Social Dimension

An overview of the Egyptian context:

Presentation of Ecotourism Fayoum project







On behalf of





































Graziella Rizza, Programme Manager Research Unit, NSCE






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TABLE OF CONTENTS


1. Introduction/Background ..................................................................................................... .. 3
2. Eco Tourism related activities to NSCE ................................................................................ 4
3. Fayoum Ecotourism project ................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Overall view ................................................................................................................ ..... 5
3.2 Hiking............................................................................................................................... 6
3.3 Bird watching ............................................................................................................... .... 6
3.4 Pottery ..................................................................................................................... ......... 7
3.5 Camel Trekking................................................................................................................ 7
4. Lessons learned ............................................................................................................. ......... 7
5. Recommendations/Conclusions ............................................................................................. 8




































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1. Introduction/Background

The Egyptian government refers to tourism as Egypts future industry. Tourism is a key
sector of the Egyptian national economy estimated to generate a total of $12.8 billion in direct
and indirect economic activity. The tourism sector is also the greatest contributor to the total
employment creating more than 2.2 million jobs, representing 7% of total employment.
Tourism generally fuels growth in the Egyptian economy, especially in the construction field,
services and agricultural industries.

Western and southern European markets are the prime generators of tourism for Egypt,
followed by the Arab, Eastern European and U.S. markets respectively. Other new tourist
generating markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe are also emerging as
evidenced by extremely high growth rates. It is the most dynamic Egyptian industry and the
largest earner of foreign currency, representing around 4.4% of the GDP of the country.
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Egypt has a multitude of unique ecosystems and natural attractions not found elsewhere in the
world, ranging from coral reefs to desert wildlife. Realizing the importance of these resources
for the future sustainable development of Egypt and their significance as part of the global
heritage of the world, the Egyptian government has dedicated special attention to their
development and management. There are currently 23 protected areas in Egypt, covering
91,000 square kilometers, or about 9% of the country's territory.

Ecotourism activities were incorporated into the National Biodiversity Strategy and became
one of the basic principles of declaring natural protectorates. The number of tourists reached
8.5 million tourists in 2005 achieving a return of 6.4 billion US dollars.

Despite the fact that several discussions on the definition of an ecotourism strategy have been
discussed and the issue is still of an interest to the involved stakeholders, up to date a clear
and operational framework has not been defined yet.

Within this context, North South Consultants Exchange has been pioneer in Egypt in
introducing eco tourism related activities since the mid 1980s. The outputs of the initiatives
promoted have to be attributed to the professional standing of Ms. Zohra Merabet, NSCE
Executive Director, who managed to promote dynamics and involve Governmental, Non-
Governmental and private sector representatives.

Other actors involved in the field of ecotourism are the Basata Camp and El Karm Ecolodge
in South Sinai, the desert lodge in Dakhla and Nature Camp Behreya in Wadi el Gedid, the
Ecolodge in Siwa Oasi; they had revived the traditional architectural style and created
hundreds of job opportunities for the local community. Despite several initiatives, a mapping
on the eco tourism activities in Egypt, and the effective market share in the tourist sector, is
not available.













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Tourism Sector Developments in Egypt, Business Studies & Analysis Centre, American Chamber
of Commerce in Egypt, 2005.
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2. Eco Tourism activities related to NSCE

Among the various initiatives related to NSCE the following ones are worthwhile to be
mentioned:

Fair trade implemented in cooperation with the Italian NGO COSPE, in partnership with
ECC (Egypt Craft Centre). The Fair Trade program involves producers from all the country
and aims at reviving and safeguarding the traditional artisan production. More than 40 NGOs
are involved in the artisan production. ECC is the promoting the marketability of those
products both in Egypt and abroad.

Mapping of South Sinai indigenous population aimed at reviewing and assessing Bedouin's
skills and interest in engaging in sustainable tourism development.



Establish a geographic information system for the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).
The value of the Egyptian historical and cultural heritage is unique in the world. As a sub-
contractor to the Finnish Environment Institute, NSCE is providing the Team Leader and
national consultants, as well as backstopping
services to the Egyptian Antiquities Information
System Project (EAIS).

The aim of the project is to establish a geographic
information system for the Supreme Council of
Antiquities (SCA), the body responsible for the
protection and maintenance of the antiquities and
their sites in Egypt. The project purpose is to
improve the overall information as well as the site
and heritage management capacity of SCA,
enabling it to perform its tasks in mapping,
documentation and protection of archaeological sites in Egypt. In order to achieve these goals
the project supports the development of a geographical information system (GIS) for the
management of Egyptian antiquities.

Cultural preservation of Siwa Oasis population. NSCE cooperated with the Italian NGO
Cooperazione Sud-Sud in the development of cultural and eco tourism in the oasis, through
the development of culturally based economic activities targeted to low-income groups and
more specifically to youth and women. The local Siwan jewellery production was revived
through the support of technical and managerial training, which brought to life an abandoned
art.

















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3. Fayoum Ecotourism project

NSCE has decided to present in detail a project implemented in Fayoum
area as one of its best practices in Ecotourism.


3.1 Overall view

Fayoum province, the largest oasis of Egypt, nested in a depression located 90 km in the South
West of Cairo, Egypt is endowed with lush nature, unique geological features, lakes, rich
archaeological sites and a rich cultural heritage. Yet, Fayoum has remained marginalized from
the Egyptian growing tourism industry during the past two decades. With a local economy
largely dominated by traditional agriculture and limited opportunities for non agriculture
employment, the local population (2 million inhabitants) keep struggling with poverty and
unemployment.

Furthermore, with a rapidly growing population, the risks of environmental degradation of the
Fayoums natural assets are real. This is aggravated by the ignorance of the local population
about the nature of pollution and environmental degradation, and a lack of understanding of
the economic and social benefits of preserving the lake, oasis, and surrounding deserts.

An assessment for potential economic diversification and support to the development of local
economy was carried out in year 2000. The research came with the conclusion that the
potential for developing ecotourism in the Fayoum, with its lakes, palm trees, pristine desert
areas, fossil remains, bird sanctuaries, and rural quietude, is very high. Likewise, it was found
that ecotourism could present ample opportunities to local residents.

These opportunities include jobs, extra income, and technical training in the field of tourism
and small business management. Several challenges were identified, among which a difficult
legal environment, a population marked by a low level of education and limited
entrepreneurial attitude and experience.

Even if not a panacea for all of the regions environmental and economic ills, properly
planned ecotourism could offer means to help develop and diversify the local economy and
provide much needed business management training experiences and reduce environmental
degradation. The aim is to demonstrate to the local people the economic benefits of
maintaining a clean and healthy environment. Furthermore, the integration of the local
population in the development of local ecotourism could demonstrate that the ecotourisms
dollar circulates in, and benefits the local economy much more profoundly than the normal
tourist dollar.

A pilot project was launched with the following objectives:
1. help foster an alternative and more locally beneficial tourism by investing in the
improvement of local human resources;
2. encourage the valuation and thus preservation of local cultural and environmental
assets by demonstrating that natural and cultural environments can bring much needed
revenue to the area;
3. stimulate the local economy through the development of ecotourism related
entrepreneurship and credit facilities for local population.




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Over a period of two years, the project succeeded in demonstrating that it is feasible to
develop local, community-based services and activities for ecotourism, and that there is a real
market demand for such services in the region.



Important lessons were learnt to share with the local population and local authorities to
upscale the project activities; yet several key challenges remained to be addressed to enable a
full scale transformation of rural Fayoum into a major ecotourism destination in Egypt.

The project's concrete outputs were to set up ecotourism activities, which involved the local
population. A brief description on the output of each activity is provided below.


3.2 Hiking



The Fayoum Ecotourism project has
developed a number of hikes in Wadi
Rayan Protected Area, as well as a
network of local hiking guides. All
hikes have been planned with the
Protected Area Management Unit to
ensure a minimal impact on the
environment and are guided by a
community guard of the Protected
Area. Some of the hikes are close to the
lake and offer the possibility to swim.
Others include a visit to local
monasteries and a land reclamation area. A visit to the Waterfall Area, the Park Visitor Centre
and to local handicraft producers can also be arranged upon request. The project has trained
more than 20 hiking guides and developed travel itineraries.





3.3 Bird watching

El Fayoum is good for bird watching
throughout the year. However, winter,
spring and autumn are the best seasons to
visit when the highest number and variety
of birds occur. During these seasons the 35
or so resident species are supplemented by
upwards of 150 species of migrating and
wintering birds.
The Fayoum Ecotourism Project has
developed a network of local bird guides
who can take visitors around the oasis to
see its bird life and other facets of this
wonderful oasis.







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3.4 Pottery

The picturesque village of
Nazla is a pottery
paradise. Located about
35 km northwest of
Fayoum City, the village
looks over a narrow
valley, Masraf al-Wadi.
The pottery is produced
according to methods that
have not changed much
since Pharonic times.
More then 20 open-air
workshops and ovens
cascade along the Wadi
slopes. Fifteen years ago,
about 150 local families
were involved in the production and marketing of pottery. This number has now decreased to
approximately 50. The project has supported the workshops both through marketing activities,
technical assistance and the promotion of alternative tourist tours.



3.5 Camel Trekking

An attractive and local alternative to cars, when
exploring the Fayoum, are camels. They are still widely
used for agricultural purposes and allow visitors to
discover the desert and rural areas in a quiet,
unobtrusive manner. The Fayoum Ecotourism Project
has encouraged and provided support to a family from
the village of Qarun to start up its own camel riding
business and has helped them to develop and map out a
number of tracks that vary from 1 hour to 2 days.



4. Lessons learned

The involvement of local communities in the process has been one of the project key
successes aiming at enhancing the local capacities by maintaining the cultural values and
reviving artisan production.

Introducing alternative path of tourism, in symbiosis with the environment, implied the
identification of new activities such as hiking and camel trekking. The main difficulties
encountered were the legal conditions allowing the trained guides to operate in a segment of
the tourist sector, which required governmental licensing. This constrain is however related to
the lack of an overall governmental strategy which is reflected in the regularization of the
legal aspects. The project has therefore started working in close coordination with Fayoum
Tourist Authority to support the release of licences to the trained guides. Through the fair
trade initiative, NSCE is supporting the local economy of Fayoum area by providing the
marketing link and the marketability of the artisan production. The main concept is to utilize
different channels for the promotion of related ecotourism activities even outside the areas
targeting eco tourists, thus promoting an integrated approach to the matter.

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5. Recommendations/Conclusions

Eco-tourism is not yet much exploited in Egypt. Internationally, those countries protecting
their biological diversity will attract more tourists. Since tourism is Egypt's main foreign
exchange earner, it behooves the country to pay attention to the impact of the environmental
quality on tourism. Egypt has a multitude of unique ecosystems and natural attractions not
found elsewhere in the world, ranging from coral reefs to desert wildlife. Realizing the
importance of these resources for the future sustainable development of Egypt and their
significance as part of the global heritage of the world, the Egyptian government has devoted
special attention to their development and management. There are currently 23 protected areas
in Egypt, covering 91,000 square kilometers. These 23 areas feature numerous endangered
animal and plant species, unique coastal and desert areas that are almost undeveloped, in
addition to over 100 different kinds of corals, which makes Egypt a diver's paradise.


Both the continuous population growth and the increasing popularity of its coastlines as major
tourist attractions propel ongoing development, particularly along the Red Sea and
Mediterranean. Protecting the very amenities, and resources that draw tourists and the
associated revenue, requires that any development along the coast to be carefully managed.
With thousands of square kilometers of unique coastal and desert areas still almost
undeveloped, Egypt is in a position to become an innovator and leader in this field.

Despite initiatives taken both by the private and governmental sector, ecotourism is still an
area, which needs to be enhanced in terms of legislation, coordination and networking. Lack
of knowledge and systemized information on ecotourism operators make ecotourism activities
accessible mostly by a small portion of local and foreign population leaving in Egypt or by
word of mouth. The presented initiatives carried out by NSCE demonstrate that concrete
outputs to the benefit of local communities can match with alternative path to mass tourism.

An effective and targeted approach requires the definition of a punctual strategy to which an
Ecotourism association in Egypt should lined. The Ecotourism Association could play a
catalytic and pivotal role in the ecotourism field and include the major stakeholders.

It must be stated that ecotourism is not just an alternative tourism, but has also a component
on development and income generation for the local communities. Fair trade initiatives linked
to marketability of the artisan products produced by the local communities should be opened
to new markets especially in the western countries.

Within this context NSCE continues be actively involved in the promotion of activities.

A new project in cooperation with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and the
Norwegian Government has been presented. The project whose identified area of intervention
is in Sharm El Sheikh in Sough Sinai, will focus on raising awareness among the Tour
Operators in Norway, as well as their local Egyptian partners on ecotourism and sustainability
issues, training programmes especially for tourist guides, pilot activities with small and
medium sized tourist companies (diving centres, desert safari organisers, small/medium sized
hotels, local shops etc.). In addition the project will focus on specific actions to improve
environmental performance in Sharm El Sheikh by assistance from Norwegian technology,
e.g. in recycling of solid waste.

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Further information can be requested to: Zohra Merabet, Executive Director NSCE, zmerabet@nsce-
inter.com and ecotourismfayoum@nsce-inter.com

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