Marine conservation vacation in Thailand

Planet

By taking part in this project you will be making a major contribution to marine conservation on Koh Tao. Through your reef surveys you will providing the data from which the reefs can be monitored and conservation strategies and activities planned. In addition you will be directly taking part in projects such as reef clean ups having an immediate impact on the environment.

As the island has become more popular the environment has come under increasing pressure, so there is a real need for action in order to protect the environment and maintain a balance between nature and the demands on it from diving and tourism, the fishing industry and the Thai community. This project is trying to facilitate this by bringing the different parties together, generating awareness about the need for action and implementing a series of in-water and on-land projects.

This is a small project that is having a quick and direct impact on the island's environment. It has already made great progress including the development of a bio-rock artificial reef and island-wide clean ups.

While our volunteers and customers are overseas, we identify and encourage simple steps to minimise their impact on the local environment. And at our office in the UK we try to recycle as much of our office waste as possible, use recycled products where available, avoid printing (no brochures) and minimise energy usage.

People

Before volunteers depart we provide them with a detailed volunteering guide on the area they will be visiting. We try to educate and encourage our volunteers to understand and respect the local cultures and customs.

This is a locally run organisation, providing employment for local Thai staff. While volunteers are in-country, they stay in locally owned accommodation and we encourage them to buy locally and support local businesses.