Information on marine litter in general and beach litter in particular from Sudan and to some extent from the Red Sea region is insufficient. The aim of this study is to assess the beach litter composition, distribution, and abundance in some selected beaches of the World Heritage Site of Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Island National Park (DMNP) located in Sudan, Red Sea coast, and to examine the rate of beach litter flux and the cleanliness of its beaches in order to provide baseline information for beach litter management at DMNP. A total of 6 sites were investigated for beach litter over a 10-month period from January to October 2017 on a quarterly basis. A total of 24 collections of beach litter were performed covering a stretch of 600 m or 7700 m2 of DMNP coastline. In total, 3037 beach litter items were collected during the study time from DMNP with an overall average of 506.2 ± 409.8 items/100 m (0.4 items/m2). Plastic beach litter was the most abundant (1738 items), constituting 57.23% with an average density of 289.7 ± 242.2 items/100 m (0.23 items/m2). The beaches of DMNP were clean (CCI = 4.6) at the time of the study. The rate of flux of the beach litter decreased steadily from 21.9 to 16.43 items/100 m/day with an overall average of 18.82 ± 2.8 items/100 m/day. The gradual decrease in the net accumulation of beach litter over the period of the study suggests that the beach litter at DMNP was likely of a local land-based origin and the beaches of DMNP are not a potential sink of marine litter. The determination of the rate of flux of beach litter is a reasonable indicator of the dynamics of beach litter in DMNP. Accordingly, application of preventive measures accompanied with awareness activities and investment in plastic collection and recycling would further enhance and preserve the present status of beach cleanliness and encourage tourism activities.

World natural heritage sites (WNH) are those areas recognised for their unique natural resources and/or processes. The main objective of this study was to investigate the living conditions and diversity of livelihoods of coastal communities of the world natural heritage site of the Dungonab Bay-Mukkawar Island Marine National Park (DMNP-WNH). The fishing communities at Dungonab and Mohamed Gol villages were found to be deprived in water, electricity, education, health care, sanitation, flooring, cooking fuel and other livelihood assets. The expenditure of 82.9% of Dungonab and 91.2% of Mohamed Gol households exceeded their income. Accordingly, DMNP-WNH fishers were not able to invest in their livelihood assets and they used hook and line as the sole fishing gear. These conditions have restricted the access of respondents to fishing grounds. About 95% of Dungonab and 93.7% of Mohamed Gol respondents were experiencing extreme poverty. The quality of life at study sites was discouraging for human settlement, therefore, limiting the population growth and consequently the consumption of natural resources at DMNP-WNH. This has positively contributed to the environmental integrity. Access to clean water, electricity and diversification of fishermen livelihoods are of key importance to stimulate blue economy and sustain the environment of the DMNP-WNH.