Green Fins: An approach to managing a sustainable diving industry
Full Solution
Local dive guides from Malapascua Island, Philippines, become Green Fins Ambassadors. Ambassadors are individuals dedicated to encouraging others to be more environmentally responsible.
The Reef-World Foundation
The solution targets threats to coral reefs related to scuba diving, one of the fastest growing tourism industries. Its best practice guidelines promote commercial sustainability and a contribution to increase coral reef resilience. Members are equipped with the necessary information, tools and training to mitigate threats, implement sustainable practices and promote environmental education and awareness amongst the dive industry and local communities and limit their impact on the environment.
Last update: 30 Sep 2020
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Context
Challenges addressed
Intensive and damaging diving activities that stress and degrade coral reef ecosystems
Tourism can be a significant driver of coral degradation, putting pressures on the ecosystem through direct and indirect impacts associated with developing infrastructure and other activities. Intensive scuba diving, snorkelling and boating can directly damage corals, making them stress susceptible and reducing live coral cover. Significant diver damage is often seen on frequently visited reefs.
Location
Asia
Caribbean
Southeast Asia
South Asia
Process
Summary of the process
The code of conduct (building block 1) defines criteria for environmental assessments of dive centres (building block 2). To achieve awareness and eco-friendly practices multi-stakeholder partnerships (building block 3) ensure participation and commitment of the dive industry, communities and stakeholders with interests for other uses of the marine environment at stake. Qualified Assessors from international organisations, national and local levels make possible promotion and adoption of the code of conduct (building block 1) and its continuous application (building block 2), including long-term monitoring of coral reef health and other habitats concerned. A transparent and open dialogue between all stakeholders ensures adoption of the code of conduct into day to day practice, legal frameworks and enforcement mechanism. Political will, applying to all stages, is a key factor to accomplish the solution. National and international networking is a driver for sustainable cooperation and environmentally responsible conduct of the dive industry.
Building Blocks
Code of Conduct
The Green Fins Code of Conduct (CoC) outlines 15 actions or environmental activities that target environmental threats caused by the dive industry both on land and under water to help dive centres and individual divers to reduce their impact on reefs. The approach provides a practical system to encourage dive centres to implement a set of guidelines providing clear industry standards for environmentally responsible practices, and to promote marine environmental awareness.
Enabling factors
• An active dive and/or snorkel industry with dives being conducted on coral reefs and/or associated ecosystems.
• Dive and/or snorkel centres with a certain awareness on environmental issues related to the industry and a willingness to participate and address environmental threats caused by the industry.
Lesson learned
The Code of Conduct covers 15 fairly broad environmental practices within the diving industry. However, through application the comprehensive criteria allow the Green Fins approach to include both common challenges as well as adapting to include locally specific challenges. Solutions to common challenges such as diver behaviour management can transferred between dive destinations. Through its multi-stakeholder approach, solutions to locally specific threats can be addressed by the Green Fins network on a local level. For example, a small recyclable collection company in the Maldives was recently identified by the Green Fins network and is now being promoted to dive centres nationally.
Environmental Assessment of Dive Centres
This is a practical and effective tool for assisting dive centres in implementing the environmental standards. The Green Environmental Assessment Rating System (GEARS) is used to assess the day-to-day practices of dive/snorkel centres against set criteria to measure their adherence to each Code of Conduct. Scores identify nature and urgency for improvements. Certification and free promotion on the Green Fins webpage act as incentives for eco-friendly dive tourism.
Enabling factors
• Dive and/or snorkel centres willing to participate in the rating system
• Qualified Green Fins Assessors (competent divers) and/or Coordinators who have access to the location and resources to support annual assessments and training for the dive/snorkel centres as required. Training and qualifications are overseen by Reef-World. These individuals cannot be involved directly with a specific dive centre, but may be freelance dive professionals, public employees, NGO staff or community members.
Lesson learned
Certified membership of participating dive centres is granted after the first assessment, a joint decision on three realistic actions to implement, and the possibility to become one of the 10 top members are good incentives to improve environmental awareness and eco-friendly dive operations. If no improvement is recorded after two yearly assessments, free membership can be suspended or withdrawn from a dive centre – a valuable quality control tool.
The annual Green Fins training and associated environmental consultation on how to implement the three feedback goals over the next year is a success factor.
This assessment can balance lack of legal frameworks governing tourism industry practices and deficiencies in monitoring and enforcement capacities of local governments.
The Green Fins systems encourage local dive and snorkel centres to unite and work together on local environmental issues and develop strategic outreach campaigns to address these issues.
Multi-Stakeholder Partnership for eco-friendly Diving
Build public and private partnerships and capacity of resource managers using a multi-disciplinary approach; e.g. training workshops, multi-stakeholder dialogue, in-country volunteers to support the national project team, underwater and beach clean-up events. Institutionalisation of the Green Fins approach within national regulatory frameworks and processes governing tourism industries ensures long-term commitment and sustainability.
Enabling factors
• Political will and commitment in each country is a necessary prerequisite to ensure sustainability.
• Financial and professional support to start and maintain the multi-stakeholder process and capacity building activities.
Lesson learned
The transparent, neutral and open approach has proven successful to improve or build relationships between public and private partners. Education and awareness of relevant stakeholders and communities are valuable resources to this process.
To render capacity building effective for project implementation on both national and local levels, a clear focus of local and national management teams is paramount. While local management teams should focus on grassroots execution, national management teams should focus on leveraging national support and legal frameworks to support long term implementation.
The cooperation between Reef-World and UNEP supported the promotion and replication of Green Fins successes within the international conservation sector. Reef-World have supported the inception, implementation and expansion of Green Fins in all of the 6 currently active countries and so enabling effective communication of lessons learned and best practice.
Impacts
Numerous members and partners in six countries with plans to expand further, including governmental, non-governmental and academic agencies support environmentally friendly diving practices. Mooring buoy programmes, improved diver management, clean-ups, and waste discharge policies prevent further degradation of coral reefs and sea grass habitats. Coral reef monitoring data is regularly collected to improve the understanding of reef health over time.
The Green Fins website offers free marketing and publicity for members, and lists environmentally responsible dive operators and best managed dive sites for interested tourists.
Beneficiaries
Dive communities, tourists, local resource management and the national government
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production
SDG 14 – Life below water
Story
In 2009 Reef-World was invited by Department of Marine Parks Malaysia (DMPM) to carry out investigatory work on Pulau Tioman, Malaysia to assist in implementing Green Fins to reduce the threats to coral reefs caused by increasing diving and snorkelling tourism. In April 2014 we returned to Tioman to re-establish Green Fins and train a new Local Team under a new partnership between government (DMPM) and an NGO -Reef Check Malaysia (RCM). This trip was a true testament to the success of Green Fins as dive centres that had participated at the Green Fins training and assessment process in 2009 were continuing to implement best practices, thus reducing their environmental impact. As a result seven more dive centres have become members of Green Fins. Those that were previously members were reassessed and are now working towards further reducing their environmental threats. The approach has had a drastic impact in creating awareness and improving education on the threats surrounding Tioman and how they can be mitigated. Since the start of Green Fins we have recorded many successes e.g. the removal of information on DMPM’s website encouraging fish feeding, a restaurant stopped serving shark fin soup and there is now a central location for night dive single use batteries dispoal instead of burning or burying them. Alvin Chelliah was one of the trainee Green Fins Assessors who is now leading Green Fins activities in Tioman to compliment his work with RCM. “Green Fins is going to link together all the environmental issues here. It belongs to all of the stakeholders so people will be much more likely to support these efforts because they feel part of it.”, he says. He set up a recycling system which is supported by the diving industry, local hotels and communities. He organises for a boat to collect the recyclables and the profit from sales is used to cover all costs. During initial consultations one of the dive centre owners on the island said that he “remember Green Fins but had given up hope of seeing anyone again, but it doesn’t matter because I was given everything I need to keep on following the guidelines”. So, given the correct tools, some dive centres can implement effective environmental practices within their operations. However, it’s noted that the assessment system is most effective at inspiring lasting improvements to environmental practices for all dive centre representatives in a diving destination.
