Marine conservation expedition to Tioman Island, Malaysia
| country: | Malaysia |
| location: | Tioman Island |
| departures: | 2009: 2 Oct |
| price: | From £2100 - £2400 (3-6 weeks) excluding flights. Price includes food, accommodation, diving, dive gear hire, science training and transfers to island. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Travel with an award-winning organisation, highly commended at the 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Responsible Travel Awards for its marine conservation work. This is an invaluable opportunity to learn and enjoy spectacular diving whilst taking part in a pioneering environmental conservation project based at one of the most beautiful locations in the world.
We welcome volunteers from all walks of life and all ages to join our expeditions. Volunteers with no diving experience are trained at our project site to PADI certification level (Advanced Open Water or higher) and all volunteers are trained by our scientific staff in marine research and on-the-ground conservation.
Our site is Tioman Island which legend claims was formed from a Chinese dragon princess who, tired from her journey to her wedding in Singapore, decided to rest in the South China Sea and stayed there forever. The island is a lush, tropical haven in the South China Sea and falls into ‘the coral triangle’. It is surrounded by some of the most diverse coral reefs in the world.
Small groups (average 9) of volunteers will stay in a beachfront, chalet-style hotel. Meals consist of generous buffet style Malay food and plenty of fresh fruit. Volunteers will work closely with Malaysian and International scientists in monitoring the reefs and rich interior forest of the island and with local communities in developing and promoting the conservation efforts needed to manage this protected area in the longer term.
We welcome volunteers from all walks of life and all ages to join our expeditions. Volunteers with no diving experience are trained at our project site to PADI certification level (Advanced Open Water or higher) and all volunteers are trained by our scientific staff in marine research and on-the-ground conservation.
Our site is Tioman Island which legend claims was formed from a Chinese dragon princess who, tired from her journey to her wedding in Singapore, decided to rest in the South China Sea and stayed there forever. The island is a lush, tropical haven in the South China Sea and falls into ‘the coral triangle’. It is surrounded by some of the most diverse coral reefs in the world.
Small groups (average 9) of volunteers will stay in a beachfront, chalet-style hotel. Meals consist of generous buffet style Malay food and plenty of fresh fruit. Volunteers will work closely with Malaysian and International scientists in monitoring the reefs and rich interior forest of the island and with local communities in developing and promoting the conservation efforts needed to manage this protected area in the longer term.
the project
Volunteers spend the initial 2-3 weeks dive training and learning marine survey and terrestrial research techniques through daily lectures, workshops and scuba ‘point outs’. Volunteers will then dive daily to monitor colourful, complex reefs and the fish populations they support and get involved in reef ‘clean-ups’. There will be regular trips into the interior forest of Tioman to assist scientists conduct exploratory research. Volunteers will also get the opportunity to take a 3 day expedition to the traditional village of Mukut, a small, sleepy fishing village in the south of the island. Throughout their stay volunteers can get involved in our local environmental education programme. In the afternoons and evenings volunteers can relax in their beach-side veranda, reading, taking part in beach volleyball, exploring the island, getting involved in village activities and, of course, watching the light fade over the dragon princess from their hammock. volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society. Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
|
Environment
This volunteer expedition is focused on the collection of meaningful data which is used to develop sustainable local environmental management plans for the unique reef systems. These plans focus on improving the quality of life of the local communities who depend on these marine resources, while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of the reefs. In Tioman the area is currently protected but there is little scientific data to inform management plans and the local community are not involved in much of this planning. The expedition aims to address this by conducting monitoring of the reefs and providing accurate data for long-term planning. Volunteers will also be involved in raising awareness in the local community so our neighbours in Tioman can become engaged in the environment they depend on for fisheries and tourism livelihoods. Every effort is made to minimise the environmental impact of our expeditions. Volunteers are requested to bring only bio-degradable products, and energy use is renewable whenever possible. Expedition teams are led by experienced divers, scientists and international researchers. Volunteers work with local communities on all of the expedition projects, the projects have been established in collaboration with local community liason representatives. This collaboration ensures that the work of our expedition team is sensitive to local traditions and volunteers have the opportunity to experience local culture and customs. Community This project and volunteer contributions raise funds to help train local people and Malaysian Marine Biology students to scuba dive and learn scientific research methods that will give them opportunities to develop their careers in this field. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |