Over the course of 2017, Reef-World has been working hard with DENR to form a national structure for Green Fins Philippines assessors under the new Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Management Program (CMEMP), or as it is known locally ‘Agos ng buhay’. This work has been supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
November 2017 – Green Fins Philippines – Malapascua members committed to conservation
The Coral Triangle Initiative is a multilateral environmental agreement between the six member states that encompass the coral triangle area. Between 27-30 November 2017, Senior Officials met in Manila, Philippines.
At the invitation of the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN), Reef-World representative James Harvey was invited to join the regional exchange workshop in Izola, Slovenia titled ‘MPAs facing pollution in the Mediterranean: thinking beyond boundaries’ that took place over 4 days (28 Nov. / 1st Dec. 2017).
Whether you have a direct connection with the reefs as diver, dive guide or instructor, or those a couple of steps away from the sea as a training agency or dive equipment manufacturer, YOU CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. #GreenFinsIYOR2018 will cover four simple actions that the diving industry can take control over, allowing reefs to be the strongest they can be!
Moalboal, located in Cebu Island, The Philippines, is one of the oldest tourism industries in the Philippines. In October 2017 Moalboal went through their sixth year of assessments.
The UK organisation behind the international coordination of Green Fins (Reef-World) was part of the design and coordination of a series of workshops that took place at the World Monitoring Conservation Centre (WCMC) based in Cambridge, UK from the 26th to 29th September.
The Technical Bulletin No. 2017-13 provides the legal instrument and structure for Regional and Provincial governments across the country to start implementing the international Green Fins environmental standards.
During March this year, Reef-World was part of an introductory workshop which aimed to develop an appropriate roadmap for applying the Green Fins approach alongside existing tourism management approaches to reduce negative impacts on coral reefs in Palau.
For the third year, volunteer assessors were based in Panglao, Philippines for six weeks while undertaking the annual assessments. Battling brown outs and a quiet low season, dive centres were no less enthusiastic for environmental protection.
If you're a journalist interested in writing about Green Fins or related topics (such as sustainable diving or coral reef conservation), we can provide information, stats, images and interviews with our expert spokespeople. To talk about how we can help, please get in touch at: press@reef-world.org.
