As with all Green Fins members, the members in Puerto Galera (on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines) undergo a Green Fins annual training session and assessment. The purpose of this is to ensure that they are up date with all the current news and information regarding the Green Fins initiative and know the best ways to minimise their environmental impact. This is especially important right now because the international Green Fins programme is growing so rapidly at the moment. The annual awareness raising session is is also an opportunity for the staff of the dive centre (and sometimes some lucky customers) to hear about techniques and approaches they can use to reduce their risk to the environment when guiding customers on the fragile coral reefs in the area.
This 45 min in-house professional presentation is carried out by the Green Fins Coordinators who have undergone rigorous training before they carry out any annual training or assessments for members.
Reef-World leads the global implementation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Green Fins initiative, which focuses on driving environmentally friendly scuba diving and snorkelling practices across the industry globally. As such, Reef-World oversees this process and makes sure that all assessments and awareness raising sessions are carried out to the same international standard. This means you can be sure that an active Green Fins member receives the same level and quality of training the world over. You can see pictures of the trainings sessions by visiting the Green Fins and Reef-World Facebook pages.
Green Fins awareness raising activities started in the Philippines in 2004 and the initiative was then officially launched in 2010. Green Fins Philippines is implemented by the Coastal and Marine Division under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) with support from NGOs including Batangas Community Divers, The El Nido Foundation and Marine Conservation Philippines.
