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Why the Philippines?
Local community:
The local people have taken the initiative to approach certain NGO’s such as us to ask for assistance in safeguarding their coastal resources. Therefore by joining this expedition you will be able to contribute tangibly to the direct conservation of their coastal resources, assist with the ongoing community education and awareness programmes as they are crucial and will continue to be a vital tool to help ensure the sustainable management of Sogod’s marine resources.
Also dive tourism is an effective means of creating alternative livelihoods and just the presence of NGO organisations and other business can generate revenue for the local economy.
We employ local staff in the following positions: Community Liaison Officer, Medical Officer, Site Maintenance Officer, Chef and Compressor Mechanic and various other expedition based roles. All the accommodation we use is locally owned and food is sourced locally, which ploughs money into the economy.
We work in partnership with local NGOs and a percentage of the fees paid by international volunteers goes towards running our local scholarship programme. The programme gives nationals in the countries we work the opportunity to join one of our marine programmes – see the Ocean Action Resource Centre Inc – Philippines.
Our project sites now have a community liaison officer who’s activities are critical to the success of the expedition as they are able to act as interpreters and bridges any gaps that may exist between us and neighbouring local communities. They also carry out socio-economic survey of the region in order to further establish the main issues hindering sustainable coastal resource management.
The Philippines Local Scholarship Programme includes the following full board and lodging at the project base, full training (including PADI Open Water, PADI Advanced Open Water, Emergency First Response and Skills Development Program training) and use scuba diving equipment and all marine project equipment provided.
Environment:
We use rainwater for many tasks around the expedition site e.g. cleaning and showering. We recycle glass and other materials on site and recycle paper/plastics/cans at HO and use composting on expedition sites.
Successful projects in the past include:
- The Belize Barrier Reef as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1996)
- Built the Marine Research Centre - Turneffe Atoll Belize (1993)
- The Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve (Belize - 1995)
- The Southwater Cay Marine Reserve (1993)
- The Danjugan Island Marine Reserve and Sanctuaries (Philippines – 2000) Which went on to win ‘National Best Managed Reef Award’ in 2001
- Network of Marine Protected Areas proposed in Fiji
- Assessed the mass coral reef bleaching event in Tobago
- Damage assessment of the Mu Ko Surin Marine National Park in Thailand after the 2004 Tsunami
- To the same extent we have worked in Malaysia, Honduras, Mexico and St Vincent.
- 2005 – To Date – a network of 15 community lead Marine Protected Areas have been designated
General:
- Co founded the FCO 'Know Before You Go Campaign - As cofounder of the FCO Know Before You Go Campaign, our volunteers are advised about local customs and how they should carry and conduct themselves when they are guests in another country.
- Founding Member of the Year Out Group
Why Cambodia?
Local community:
All volunteers are directed to the FCO’s, ‘Know Before you Go’ campaign which will clearly advise volunteers on local customs and cultures and how best to respect them in both the Philippines and Cambodia.
Volunteers are guided by the Expedition Leader and other staff members to ensure their smooth integration into local communities. As the organisation has the approval of the necessary government bodies and is working with a local counterpart, the local community is clearly aware of the conservation mission.
Environment:
Cambodia as a nation currently lacks the financial and technical means to support the conservation of many of its natural resources and like so many developing nations is aiming to profit directly from exploiting them. Recently, tourism in Cambodia has increased exponentially with attractions like Angkor Wat being the main attraction thanks to films like ‘Tomb Raider’. Dive tourism has also flourished as tourists seek different activities while on holiday. Cambodia’s waters are home to a large number of unique corals and undiscovered micro-species that need protection from commercial and destructive fishing techniques, as well as irresponsible scuba diving practices.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in Cambodia called on the expertise of this British NGO to conduct a rapid assessment of the area's marine resources i.e. pilot project, with the intention of developing a longer-term monitoring and conservation management plan, which would engage and involve the local community. The local dive shop is an ethnic and environmentally conscious small business that is committed to benefiting the communities in their local area; to date they have already help re-establish a school on Koh Rong for the small fishing community.
Long term goals
The long-term aims are to help establish a coastal management plan for the area and set up a series of marine protected areas, which will help protect the most diverse habitats and decrease the deterioration and degradation of the coral reef.
Through the collection of survey data by scientists and expedition volunteers, GIS habitat and species maps will be created for the area to reflect different levels of diversity of the region. Once the monitoring and conservation programme has been established and adopted by a local NGO or preferably the local community; community based marine protected areas can be recommended and established.
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