I. Monitoring of the Marine Environment in front of the Industrial Complex

The MSS has been conducting a continuous monitoring program of the different components of the coastal ecosystem in front of the Industrial Complex of the Jordanian Mines Company since 1996. The monitoring program involves seawater, bottom sediments, benthic community and fish. Seawater is collected monthly from six locations and analyzed for nutrients, dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity, chlorophyll a and salinity, in addition to the basic physical characteristics temperature and transparency. Bottom sediments are also collected from six sites and analyzed for grain size, chemical composition, organic carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen, in addition to heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Benthic and fish community are monitored once a year at six stations by visual census. Descriptions are given of density, diversity, distribution as well as site-to-site and year-to-year variations. Outputs of the project are 12 monthly reports and one annual report every year. At the early stages of the project semiannual reports were produced as well. The data, reports and expertise that accumulated at the MSS during the course of implementing this program forms a good foundation for any monitoring and assessment program of the marine environment on the Jordanian coast of the Gulf of Aqaba

II. Monitoring of the environmental quality of the Jordanian coast of the Gulf of Aqaba

The city of Aqaba has experienced a series of local administration systems. With the continuous progress of the local administration, was a continuous progress in giving more attention to the environmental dimension. During the preparatory stages for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), the Marine Science Station (MSS) in collaboration with the Aqaba Region Authority established a monitoring program of the basic components of the marine ecosystem; water, sediment, benthic community and fish, along the entire Jordanian coast. The MSS was responsible for designing the monitoring program, writing the proposal that won the project and has been responsible for implementing it.

Higher weight was given to the monitoring program after the establishment of ASEZA. This is because the tendency in ASEZA is to build their coastal management policy on scientific findings. Also the findings of the monitoring program serve the purpose of putting the regulations for investment and exploitation of the marine environment.

The activities of the monitoring program involve monthly collection and analysis of water samples from ten coastal locations and one offshore location that serves as a reference. Water samples are analyzed for nutrients, chlorophyll a, pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, Irradiance, transparency, temperature and salinity.  In addition the program involves bottom sediment monitoring and visual census of the benthic and fish community at eight sites along the Jordanian coast of the Gulf.  Outputs of the monitoring program are 12 monthly reports as well as one semiannual and one annual report

III. The Red Sea Marine Peace Park (RSMPP); Fast Track Project

An innovative governing system is being established in Aqaba. In February 2000 the city has been declared as a Special Economic Zone, governed by a highly autonomous authority. The main objectives of the new authority are to develop Aqaba Subsequent to the establishment of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) as a haven for commerce, a destination for tourism, and an incubator for technology. The expected pressure of coastal development on the coastal environment created a strong motivation to conducting detailed studies to better understand the coral reef ecosystem functioning and assess its capacity to accommodate coastal constructions and developments. At this stage of political and environmental awareness maturity, the need was identified for an environmental program that covers the entire northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba rather than just the Jordanian coast. Two scientific institutions, the MSS from Aqaba and the IUI from Elat, associated with two government agencies ASEZA from Aqaba and the Nature and Marine Park Authority from Elat have applied jointly in the framework of the Marine Peace Pack for a research, monitoring, management and outreach program, to be managed by the two government agencies and implemented by the scientific institutions. The RSMPP project ended in December 2002 and achieved its objectives..In continuation to the RSMPP the fast track project is initiated in 2004 with financial support from USAID. The project focuses on: upgrading of infrastructures established in the RSMPP (databases, mapping and GIS, water circulation models) aiming at transforming them to more powerful (jointly managed) monitoring,research and managing tools; developing the application of new monitoring techniques (remote sensing, particulate organic matter, genotoxicity and cell abnormalities); developing new approaches for early monitoring, assessing status of marine habitats and conservation measures (zooplankton, fish nursery sites).

IV. Environmental assimilative capacity of coastal habitats and green mariculture of high revenue low environmental burden species on the Jordanian sector of the Gulf of Aqaba