Gabel Elba Protected Area Community Participation Program

Elba Mountains are a cluster of coastal mountains overlooking the RedSea. This rocky chain extends from Egypt to Sudan. These mountains are divided into three areas, Elba, Ibraq and El Daab. Thesemountains were declared under Law 102/1983 by Prime Minister Decree 450/1986

Local communities:

There are three main tribes living in the area:

the Bischari, El Rashayda and Ababda. These tribes have a rich and colorful traditional culture, which forms an integral part of the local landscape. The Bischari inhabit Elba Mountain. They are sedentary to semi-nomadic peoples, related to the tribes in Sudan and Ethiopia and speak their own language. The Ababda are a sedentary to semi-nomadic people found in the northern areas of the park, and speak Arabic and are considered Arab.

The Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE), as the secretariat of the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), is working in collaboration with Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Program (GEF/SGP) in implementing Gabel Elba Protected Area community Participation Program. This project aims at encouraging and developing community participation in managing the protectorate. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to identify the different problems facing the protectorate's community and the different solutions needed to improve the living conditions, which were as follows:

Conserve the park's natural beauty, habitats and wildlife;
Improve the standard of living and the quality of life of local people,while allowing them the option to maintain
their culture, traditions and way of life.

Develop economic activities, such as eco-tourism that will complement the management objectives of the Protected Area, while at the same time benefiting the local communities and furthering the development objectives of the Governorate

Main Activities

Identifying different problems and solutions through designing, distributing and analyzing questionnaires.
Arranging for four field visits to the protectorate. These visits included community members and youth in order to educate them about the protectorate.