| “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.” Baba Dioum, Senegalese Conservationist.
Conservation begins with understanding the need to protect waters necessary for life. Each year Project AWARE introduces a new public awareness and education campaign to address environmental issues and involve individuals in solutions. Project AWARE also teaches enthusiasts how to sustainably interact with aquatic resources and apply these skills to conservation.
Go ECO – Explore, Conserve, Observe
Exploring nature, traveling to new places and experiencing other cultures is exhilarating. But keeping earth's treasures pristine for future generations to experience can also be a challenge. If you like to travel and are concerned about your effect on the environment, Go ECO – the responsible way to travel – is for you. By staying informed and making responsible travel choices, you can minimize your effect as a tourist and help preserve natural environments, local economies and native cultures. |
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The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as, “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people.” This is important because tourism is the world's largest industry and is growing rapidly. This is good news for travel operators, but tourism can also hurt the natural ecosystem. Increased numbers of tourists require a larger infrastructure and can lead to serious pollution and degradation.
Project AWARE created the Go ECO campaign to educate tourists about how they can travel responsibly and inspire tour operators to implement best business practices in their local area. By making informed choices, you can support operators committed to environmentally responsible business practices. And, by following a few basic guidelines, you can minimize your effect on the ecosystems while contributing to environmental, economic and cultural conservation.
Project AWARE's Environmental Achievement Award winners are tour operators making an exceptional commitment to the aquatic environment. These facilities are awarded for proving their exceptional commitment to sustainable business practices. Project AWARE also recognizes a select group of Eco- Operators who pledge to conduct business according to Eco-Operator guidelines. View the list of these outstanding facilities and support their environmental efforts whenever possible.
As an ecotourist, you should… |
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Enjoy nature but don't chase or touch animals. |
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Not remove anything that is part of the natural environment. |
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Urge your guides to act responsibly and tip them for their cooperation. |
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Stay on trails or other designated areas and leave the site cleaner than when you found it. |
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Report environmental damage to authorities and encourage responsible behavior in others. |
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Patronize locally owned businesses, but avoid items made from endangered species, threatened species, coral or tropical hardwoods. |
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Interact with and show respect for local people, their culture and their traditions. Talk with them about environmental issues affecting their area. Visitors respecting a destination are key to ecotourism. |
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Protect threatened fisheries by choosing seafood items caught or harvested from sustainable native fish populations. |
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Practice buoyancy control skills in a pool or sandy area before swimming near a coral reef or any sensitive environment. Make sure your equipment is secured, you're weighted properly and be careful not to touch, stand on or collect coral. |
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Be an AWARE diver – enroll in a Project AWARE Specialty course to increase your knowledge about the environment and learn sustainable dive practice knowledge. |
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Participate in local conservation activities when available and support established parks and reserves. |
As an eco-operator, we will… |
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Provide dive experiences that enhance visitor awareness, appreciation and understanding of the local aquatic environment. |
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Use recycled products whenever possible. |
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Participate in local conservation efforts and support established parks and reserves. |
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Not sell items made from endangered species, threatened species, corals or tropical hardwoods. |
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Respect local people, culture and traditions while abiding by local laws and regulations. |
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Provide pre-dive briefings on responsible dive practices such as: |
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Proper buoyancy control |
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Securing equipment and streamlining body position |
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Maintaining distance from sensitive environments |
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Not touching or chasing animals |
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Abiding by all fish and game regulations |
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Use mooring buoys or drift diving techniques whenever possible to avoid damage to underwater habitat. |
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Offer Project AWARE specialty courses that teach customers about ecology and conservation. |
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Practice buoyancy control skills in a pool or sandy area before swimming near a coral reef or any sensitive environment. Make sure your equipment is secured, you're weighted properly and be careful not to touch, stand on
or collect coral. |
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Display environmental public awareness materials and provide community involvement opportunities. |
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Use environmentally sound methods of rubbish disposal. |
Protect the Sharks
Why do sharks need our protection? Many shark species are endangered and could
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Few countries have shark management plans in place. And, the demand for shark products like shark meat, fins and cartilage further contributes to their decline.
Why should you help? Sharks play a vital role in the underwater ecosystem as part of nature's complex system of checks and balances. Known as apex predators, they are at the top of the food chain, keeping other aquatic species populations healthy and balanced.
Respect Our Wrecks
One of the real treasures of shipwrecks is the opportunity they provide to explore the past. Wrecks can serve as important habitats for fish and other aquatic life because their substrate acts as an artificial reef for entire ecosystems. Invertebrates, such as mussels, sponges, scallops and sea fans, attach themselves to the hard surface of the wreck. Since these organisms often support higher levels of the food web, fish populations often congregate and propagate in the safe haven of the structure. The abundance of life and biodiversity found on wrecks can be similar to that of the world's most pristine coral reefs.
Divers are privileged to have access to underwater sites that are part of our cultural heritage or maritime history. To preserve the sites for future generations, it is important to be informed, dive responsibly and treat shipwrecks with honor and respect. Divers must be responsible when exploring these submerged sites, looking after themselves, the environment and the cultural heritage. |
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Project AWARE created the Respect our Wrecks campaign to educate divers about preserving our underwater cultural heritage and demonstrate the environmental value of such sites.
If we can be of any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to contact us: diving@phildivers.com |
