May 2017 – Green Fins Thailand – A new team of Assessors

Thailand is where it all began for Green Fins, when the programme was launched in Phuket in 2004 when the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) adopted this UN Environment Initiative to create awareness and provide solutions to the negative impacts from the rapidly growing marine tourism industry across Thailand.

Since then, Green Fins Thailand has had a wide impact with the tourism industry, focusing on educational awareness of dive and snorkel operator staff and tourists. The Green Fins Thailand team has used the citizen science programme ‘Reef Watch’ to help monitor the status of coral reefs with great success; not only equipping dive staff with a tool to provide an early warning system for changes on the reefs, but enhancing their connection and understanding of the coral ecosystem and boosting their desire to protect it. 

Between 21-26th May 2017, The Reef-World Foundation returned to Phuket to train a new team of Assessors. The nine all-female team hailed from DMCR staff, independent researchers, GVI Phang Nga and the North Andaman Network Foundation.

Throughout the week, the team assessed and provided consultation for four Green Fins members, trained 20 operator staff on environmental best practice and passed the training programme with flying colours. Splitting their resources between diving and snorkelling businesses, the new assessor team will be helping to provide training and certifications to participating businesses in both the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand industries.

If you are already a member of Green Fins in Thailand who would like to renew your training and receive an up to date certificate of participation and or would like to become a new Green Fins member altogether, then please send a completed Membership form to thailand@greenfins.net and the team will get back to you.

Picture of Reef-World with the new team of Green Assessors in Thailand.

Photo credits: The Reef-World Foundation and Poom Photographer