Egypt to upgrade guide for granting Green Star Hotel Certificate

19 / 07 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

Egypt is working on upgrading the guide for granting Green Star Hotel Certificate in order to step up measures to protect biodiversity and marine life, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said.

The Green Star Hotel Certificate for tourist accommodation businesses is awarded to tourist accommodations in Egypt for their commitment to eco-friendly management and social responsibility.

The certificate aims to support the use of renewable energy, especially the solar one, and commitment to sustainable development.

About 83 hotels have received the Green Star Hotel Certificate in Egypt in 2019.

The hotels holding the green certificates are located in Cairo, Ain Sokhna, Sharm el-Sheikh,Taba, Hurghada and Marsa Alam.

The Ministry of Tourism has joined hands with the Chamber of Tourism Establishments to encourage more hotels to become eco-friendly.

Upgrading protectorates, promoting biodiversity and ditching plastic waste:

Moreover, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said the ministry is working on developing natural protectorates in South Sinai in line with international standards.

The tourism Ministry is collaborating with the Ministries of Environment and Culture to up the number of natural protectorates to 40 instead of 27.

She added that a mechanism will be laid down to pinpoint the activities allowed in the protectorates to maintain their wealth within the framework of promoting eco-tourism.

The ministry is scheduled to launch a number of campaigns for raising awareness about the importance of protecting the environment at airports and tourism facilities.

Campaigns for promoting eco-tourism will also be spearheaded on social media. There will also be electronic maps for tourists to get to know protectorates and their social and cultural heritage, she added during a meeting with South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda.

Fouda hailed the efforts being exerted by the Environment Ministry to implement a project for conjoining biodiversity with eco-tourism.

He added that an awareness campaign for protecting biodiversity in the marine life will be launched.

The ministry will also step up efforts to ditch the use of single-use plastic waste during safari tours and ensuring safe disposal of plastic waste during daily voyages and at tourist facilities, she said.

Efforts are underway to replace plastic products with paper and cartoon products in addition to raising awareness among workers at tourist facilities about the importance of protecting the environment.

Within this context, a 10-day campaign was launched in June to recover plastic waste from the seabed of the Red Sea.

The campaign – which was the first of its kind – was spearheaded under the “Go Green” Initiative.

The campaign managed to retrieve 14 tons of plastic waste, including plastics, glass, metals and wood. The waste was disposed to a safe landfill.

Sharm El Sheikh to turn green soon:

South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda added that the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh will turn green as soon as possible.

In 2019, Egypt joined hands with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to turn Sharm El Sheikh into a “green city.”

Sharm El Sheikh will be the first green city in Egypt, the Arab world, the Middle East and Africa.

Within this context, greenhouse gas emissions in Sharm El Sheikh will be reduced and solid waste will be managed. Preserving marine life is also a top priority.

About 33 programs are being implemented to promote the use of solar energy as well as clean transportation in addition to expanding use of bikes. Tourist launches will also be converted to be run by natural gas.

The state also plans to expand green areas throughout the city.

The city will also seek to recycle waste and ditch plastic waste.

Within this context, the Red Sea governorate is seeking to disseminate awareness among people on the dangers of using plastic bags in view of their harmful impact on marine creatures.

The Red Sea governorate has worked on distributing bags made of paper and cloth at facilities and among citizens to encourage them to take the step so that the governorate will gradually get rid of plastic bags in line with the Environment Ministry’s plan.

Egypt and the UNDP have also agreed to cooperate to build environment-friendly houses in Gharqana village of Nabq Protectorate within the framework of “Decent Life” Initiative.