JEDDAH, 6 April 2005 — Students plunged the depths of the Red Sea and learned about the delicate balance of its marine ecosystem yesterday at the first annual Red Sea Preservation Forum. The forum’s aim was to increase public awareness of the Red Sea ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, especially among students because they will be the ones carrying the torch for protecting the environment for future generations.
In addition to college students, there were also intermediate and high school students from six girls’ schools.
The first presentation was by four Effat College students — Sabeen Islam, Lama Younis, Bushra Goknil, and Zainab Yasin — as an introduction to Red Sea marine life.
“We learned so much when we did our research for the presentation — things we didn’t know about our shores, the Red Sea and the many different species in it,” Goknil told Arab News. “We began to see ourselves as part of the environment and now treat it as our home because if we don’t take care of it for the next generation, who will?” asked Younis. “It’s amazing to see how we are interconnected to the environment and how one change can affect the whole cycle of things,” Islam said.
They learned to respect water more, not only in terms of not polluting it, but also to appreciate its power in such events as the latest tsunami. They enjoyed the presentations that followed by Tarek Taher, president and CEO of Al-Taher Group and founder of Reef Chief; Abdullah Al-Suhibany, head of the Natural Resources and Protected Areas Unit at PERSGA; Dr. Ahmed Khalil, director of Suakin Marine Station and assistant professor of Marine Ecology at University of Khartoum; and Keith Sproul, chairman of the International Ecotourism Society.
For many female students, the underwater scenes are breathtaking, and they wanted to experience that firsthand. “I didn’t know about our offshore islands and the diving experience there,” Goknil said.
“It was interesting to know about all the different kinds of turtles we have, especially those big ones. That two-meter long and 400 kg turtle they showed is fantastic,” Younis said. “When they said they are being killed to make handbags from their skin I was shocked and angry,” she said.
The young women urged students of all ages to attend these kinds of forums and educate themselves about the environment and marine life and the importance of preserving them.
