Academy for Educational Development

At the Samadai Reef Dolphin House, a sheltered preserve in the Red Sea, hundreds of dolphins live, socialize, and give birth while entertaining tourists and teaching them about the importance of conserving natural resources.

GreenCOM, a project of the AED Center for Environmental Strategies, collaborated with partners from the Egyptian government and PERSGA, a regional environmental organization for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, to create the Samadai Reef Dolphin House.

The Days of Abu Slama teaches children about the life of a dolphin living in a protected reef.

As part of the experimental ecotourism initiative, GreenCOM’s project partners are managing diving and snorkeling in the area to reduce the negative impact of recreational activities on the local dolphin population.

Each day up to ten dive boats are allowed to visit the reef with 100-150 visitors. Other measures, including a service fee and monitoring of visitors to prevent behavior harmful to the dolphins, also contribute to the overall plan for dolphin protection.

These amazing creatures are also the subject a new children’s book produced by GreenCOM and its partners.

The Days of Abu Salama follows a dolphin through his day as he encounters tourists, boat operators, his dolphin friends, and the Red Sea Rangers, who work for the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency to promote conservation efforts.

Five thousand copies of the book were printed for the Red Sea Rangers to distribute as part of their educational programs. 

Information for this story came from "Economics and Sustainable Use of Samadai Reef 'Dolphin House,' Marsa Alam, Red Sea, Egypt" by Mahmoud Sarhan, Mahmoud Hanafy, and Moustafa Fouda.