Responsible marine conservation

Much marine conservation work used to focus solely on looking after the marine life in a destination with little thought to the role that the local community played, both in terms of behaviours they were practicing that may be damaging the marine environment and how they could be better included and educated to prevent further damage. Understandably, this led to travelers questioning what the point was in spending their hard earned cash to join a project and help protect a marine environment if the local population were not working towards or understanding that aim too.

Fortunately, it's fair to say that that tide has well and truly turned, and there is today a massively significant relationship between the local community and the conservationists, so much so that one of the markers of a conservation project's success now is how well it works within the local community. Thanks to conservation projects reaching out to local schools, using the skills and services available to them locally, and welcoming any involvement from locals by providing relevant jobs and training, there is a far greater awareness among local communities of what conservation projects are doing and why, and this is forging a very successful collaboration as well as helping to bring home the message that there won’t be a sustainable tourism future if what the tourists are coming for isn't looked after.

What you can do
Conservation work is what's required of you on a trip, and it's unlikely to be mandatory that you engage with the local community, but doing so will add so much more to your experience - if you don't feel comfortable teaching English to school kids, set up a game of rounders on the beach, or organise a beach clean-up. Any interaction that educates locals about the importance of marine conservation and educates you about their lives and attitudes will be enriching for both parties. Some marine conservation projects work in very remote locations and it can be almost impossible to interact with the locals daily. If this the case, organise a local guide to show you what life is like on the mainland during your downtime and in turn it's likely you'll be asked to share stories of what you're doing there, too.

Having survived tens of thousands of years of natural change, humankind has managed to wreak havoc on coral reefs – the beautiful and life-sustaining underwater organisms that over 25 percent of all marine life calls home.

Shockingly, one quarter of coral reefs worldwide are already considered damaged beyond repair and two-thirds of those that remain salvageable are under threat. Major threats include destructive fishing practices (see below); careless tourism, such as overdevelopment, thoughtless diving, snorkelling and boating, and people touching reefs and collecting coral; pollution from urban and industrial waste, sewage, agrochemicals and oil, which poison the reefs and up the level of nitrogen in the seawater, which effectively suffocates reefs; and climate change – corals simply cannot survive if the temperature of the sea is too high and react by ‘bleaching’, a literal and visually dramatic stress response that eventually leads to death.

Oceanic acidification, disease, sedimentation due to deforestation, coral mining and coastal development are other major concerns that affect the health of coral reefs. There is room for optimism, however, with around 40 percent of the world’s reefs regarded as being relatively healthy and not facing immediate danger. Importantly, there is still time to take action and join the effort to preserve some of the richest natural habitats our planet has to offer.

What can you do?
Make sure any marine conservation vacation you join has strict guidelines on responsible diving and snorkelling and the safe exploration of coral reefs. As climate change is one of the biggest threats to coral reefs around the world, take part in WWF's global Earth Hour, by going 'lights out' for 60 minutes on one day in March each year.

One of the most threatening behaviours towards marine life is fishing or, more accurately, the destructive practices that are employed to catch more fish.

Bottom trawling, an industrial and massively detrimental fishing method that has the same effect on marine life as deforestation does on wildlife, destroys the seafloor and rips up beds and coral in its wake. Similarly, dynamite fishing, a particular problem in Southeast Asia that involves dynamite and other explosives being set off underwater prompting dead fish to float to the surface and be scooped up by the bucket load, leaves the underwater environment destroyed and disjointed, like a pile of rubble.

Overfishing is perhaps the one practice where some sense can be applied and in countries such as Thailand, survival is a language far clearer understood than sustainability. The dangers of overfishing, which can affect the ecological balance of coral reef communities causing long-term effects far beyond the plight of the directly overfished population, are thankfully being brought to the fore by marine conservation projects which involve and educate the locals wherever possible in an attempt to break negative cycles.

What can you do?
Other than not become a trawler fisherman, the most valuable thing you can do is engage with the local community in the destination that you visit and try and understand their point of view, as well as educate any willing ears as to what the conservation work is trying to achieve. It’s always worthwhile showing your support for organisations that are trying to combat the problem with overfishing, such as Greenpeace, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘Fish Fight’. The latter is a successful campaign launched to put the issue of sustainable fishing in the laps of our own politicians and supermarkets, which is being supported and continued by the Marine Conservation Society.