Phuket/Bangkok, 30 May 2007 – The Green Fins Programme, aimed creating a network of environmentally dive operators to assist in the monitoring and conservation of coral reefs, was launched today in Phuket, Thailand, during the Regional Workshop of the Secretariat of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). The Green Fins Programme was piloted in 2004 in Thailand and Indonesia to encourage dive operators, and inadvertently, clients that use their services, to adopt environmentally friendly practices when diving or snorkeling around coral reefs. Thailand and the Philippines are two of the most popular diving-destination countries in the region.
The Programme awards certificates to dive operators that carry out their operations using environmentally-friendly guidelines. Divers are encouraged to use tour operators and resorts displaying the Green Fins logo and certificate. The Green Fins programme also contributes to biophysical and socio-economic monitoring by providing data illustrating coral reef health, level of awareness of divers, and information on dive tour operators in the region.
“There are close to 270 licensed dive operators that we know of in the region. There is potential to reach out to them and expand this programme, which provides an avenue through which divers and dive operators can participate in the conservation, monitoring, which in turn will help protect these coral reefs,” said Nipon Phongsuwan, Marine Biologist, Phuket Marine Biological Center.
More than a third of the world’s coral reefs are found in the East Asian Seas that traverses Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The region also has the highest coral reef biodiversity in the world. However, pollution, tourist activities, and destructive fishing have taken their toll on the reefs which are now in critical and threatened condition. Around 38% of coral reefs in Southeast Asia and over 14% in Northeast Asia have already been destroyed.
“Along with their aesthetic qualities, these coral reefs constitute an important economic resource for the communities that depend on them for their livelihoods as well as the fishing and tourism industry. Coral reef fisheries bring in almost $2.2 billion and US$4.8 million in tourism,” said Dr. Srisuda Jayarabhand, Coordinator of the EAS/RUC. “As tourism grows in this region, a trend that we are increasingly seeing, these reefs will come under increasing threats and pressures. We hope to see dive operators from countries in the East Asia Seas region come on board to generate action in helping us preserve them.”
An award ceremony was also held for the winners of the Green Fins Slogan Competition, organized by the East Asian Seas Regional Coordinating Unit ((EAS/RCU), the COBSEA Secretariat. The Slogan Competition was organized to draw attention of tourists, tour and dive operators and the public to the critical conditions of coral reefs in the region and the need for practices that do not worsen the health of an already threatened resource.
‘Save the Coral Reefs Today, Dive the Green Fin Way’, by 18-year-old Emily Grace Angelie D. Lero from the Phillipines was the slogan that garnered the winning prize, followed by 22-year-old Joseph Michael Torrijos from the Phillipines in second place, and 13-year-old Alisa Santikarn, from Thailand in third place.
“I will be in my senior year this June and an adult member of society. I ought to start by making good decisions. My country just like Thailand has many beautiful beaches and diverse coral reefs. I bet they need tender loving care too,” said first prize winner, Emily Grace Angelie D. Lero. “This contest made me realize my responsibility to promote the conservation of coral reefs, the importance of diving and the discipline and proper information behind it. “
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Satwant Kaur, Regional Information Officer
United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,
Tel: + (66 2) 288 2127; E-mail: kaur@un.org