Middle East

Suez expansion a great ecological risk, scientists warn

Cairo: A new report warns that plans for the expansion of the Suez Canal could bring severe ecological problems.

A total of 18 scientists, specialising in marine ecosystems, have published a warning in the journal Biological Invasions, saying the new canal “is sure to have a diverse range of effects, at local and regional scales, on both the biological diversity and the ecosystem goods and services of the Mediterranean Sea.”

Of nearly 700 multicellular non-indigenous species currently recognized from the Mediterranean Sea, fully half were introduced through the Suez Canal since 1869, the report noted, adding that the expansion of the canal, which will see a parallel waterway built, is likely to see more species leach from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.  [06/10/14]

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