St Katherine Protectorate is an Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian national park in Saint Katherine

Saint Catherine, Egypt

Saint Catherine is the capital city of Saint Katherine Markaz and a natural protectorate in the South Sinai Governorate in Sinai in Egypt. It is located at the outskirts of El-Tur Mountains Province at an elevation of 1586 m , 120 km away from Nuweiba, at the foot of Mount Sinai and the...

 city. It encloses most of the mountainous area of central South Sinai, including the country's highest mountain, Gebel Katharina (2641m, above sea level).

In 2002, a 640 km2 area demarcated by the ‘Ring Dyke’ within the Protectorate core has been listed by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 as a World Heritage site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. The listed area includes the highest mountains in the Protectorate, including Mt. Sinai and the Monastery of St. Katherine

Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

Saint Catherine's Monastery lies on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of a gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai in the city of Saint Catherine in Egypt's South Sinai Governorate. The monastery is Orthodox and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...

. In September 2001 a delegation from ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites

International Council on Monuments and Sites

The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world...

) conducted a site review and the site and their recommendations are included in the listing memorandum. A site visit by IUCN, the administrative agency for Natural Sites, was conducted in December 2002. It is proposed that the site be redesignated as ‘An Associative Cultural Landscape’. World Heritage status brings higher protection and international oversight but will entail a more intensive management effort and full co-operation from local and national authorities.

Climate

It is average for temperatures to cross 30°C in summer mid-days with a moderate climate at nights; meanwhile it is quite common for snow mountain peaks to be visible during winters with temperatures ranging between averages of 10:16°C during mid-days, during winter nights temperatures can normally drop below zero and reach -14C at the top of the mountains. Visitors are advised to dress appropriate warm clothing if they are climbing the touristic historic Mount Sinai at night particularly during winters.

Primary management goals

1. The conservation of the contained mountain ecosystem of Southern Sinai including all its elements and processes and the conservation of the site’s traditional cultural and religious values.

2. To facilitate and strengthen the institutional capacity for Protectorate management and development in partnership with relevant institutions and local stakeholders.

3. The integration of the St. Katherine Protectorate management and development planning into the network of protected areas forming the South Sinai Management Sector.

4. The integration of the protectorate into the local development process and land use management system in order to assist sustainable local rural development.

Ecological importance

This arid, mountain ecosystem supports a surprising biodiversity and a high proportion of plant endemics. Its high altitude ecosystem supports a surprising diversity of endangered wild flora and wildlife; some found nowhere else in the world. Around 472 plant species out of which115 of medicinal importance and 19 are endemic to Egypt. To date 27 mammal species have been recorded, 9 of which are bats. There are 46 reptile species, where 15 of which are found nowhere else in Egypt.

Natural resources

Medicinal Plants, Pastoral Plants, Wildlife, Ground Water, Granite, Marble, Building materials, Introduced fruitful trees such
as palm trees, fig, olive, and almond.

Local communities

The protectorate is home to 7000 Egyptian Bedouin citizens from six different tribes who play a very vital role in managing the protectorate with their invaluable traditional knowledge about the area and its natural characteristics. Around the monastery you will find the Bedouins of the Gabalia tribe who have played a very important role in the building and protection of the monastery since they were brought from Macedonia for that particular purpose at the sixth century. Throughout the years the newcomers became Bedouins with very close relations with the monks which proved mutually beneficial for the two sides.

Protectorate legislation

1. Law 102/1983
The main Protectorate legislative instrument, Law 102 sets out the principles for the declaration of natural protectorates and stipulates development restrictions and activities within and adjacent to the protectorate.
The Law obliges the EEAA as the concerned administrative body to:

• Forbid actions leading to the destruction or deterioration of the natural environment, biota or which would detract from the aesthetic standards of the protectorate.
• Regulate scientific research
• Develop management program for declared Protected Areas
• Increase Public Awareness
• Regulate recreational activities in protectorates to protect natural resources

2. Law 4/1994
Prohibits the hunting, possession, transport and sale those species of wild fauna (live or dead) determined by Executive Statues of same Law.

Threats

• Unsustainable development
• Unsustainable tourism practices
• Over hunting
• Over grazing
• Over collection of plants
• Extinction of endangered wildlife species
• Rising demand on scarce water resources
• Rising demand on building materials extracted from the Protectorate
• Marginalization of local community and forced change in their lifestyles
• Disappearance of traditional knowledge