This grant will build on the success of Reef-World’s past four Rufford Grants in South East Asia. By the end of this project, it’s expected that Green Fins activities will be relatively self-sustaining in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. These countries represent three of the six Coral Triangle countries (the most biodiverse marine region on the planet) and, out of that six, support the highest numbers of inbound tourists. By reducing local direct threats posed by diving and snorkeling activities, Green Fins supports dive centres to contribute to coral reef protection by building their resilience to more wide scale threats such as climate change. Efforts to mitigate environmental impacts from marine based tourism in this area will contribute significantly to marine resource protection. This grant will provide Reef-World with resource to be able to deliver capacity building support for national teams in Malaysia and the Philippines, and establish Green Fins in Indonesia.

Green Fins is paving the way to unite politics and marine conservation efforts to ensure the sustainability of popular diving and snorkeling destinations around the world. Established through a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The Reef-World Foundation, Green Fins uses a unique and proven three-pronged approach; green certifications of dive and snorkel centres, strengthening of laws and regulations, and environmental education for dive staff, divers and government. Almost 500 dive and snorkel operators across six countries have signed up for free membership, and are using Green Fins as a platform to set examples of sustainable business operations.

With Rufford Foundation support, Reef-World have proven GF as a replicable management approach, valuable to both the public and private sectors, with quantifiable successes for marine environmental protection.