Green Sharm El Sheikh Launches Two Sustainability-Focused Apps

Two new apps have just launched as part of the Green Sharm El Sheikh project, which aims to transform Sharm El Sheikh into an ecological model for sustainable tourism. The Eco-Monitor app and E-Permitting system will facilitate data collection on marine life and the area’s use of natural resources.

Covering Sharm El Sheikh, as well as Ras El Mohammed and Abu Ghalloum in the Red Sea, both apps will collect comprehensive environmental data in these areas, allowing the project to formulate its sustainability strategies accordingly. “In order to become a sustainable tourism destination, we need to know where we are right now,” Mohammed Elewa, Project Manager of Green Sharm El Sheikh, tells CairoScene.

Developed in collaboration with the Egyptian Tourism Federation, the Eco Monitor app will collect data on marine life in the Red Sea, with a focus on key species: dolphins, dugongs, sharks and turtles. “A team of professional divers will report their observations daily and will create a database from this data,” Elewa explains. This will allow the project to monitor red-sea life and tailor its approaches to protecting it. “After an initial six months, the app will eventually expand its focus to different aspects of marine life, such as coral reefs, and will also open to more divers to participate in data-collection.”

The E-Permits system allows tourism organisations to record their activities and to apply for permits through an online portal, and as such, reduces approval times and ensures compliance with environmental regulations. “The new E-Permitting system is much easier and faster than the traditional paper-permitting system, at no extra cost,” Elewa says. This new system will also facilitate the collection of data on the different touristic activities occurring in the covered area, enabling the project to understand the use of natural resources here.