Marine Conservation Volunteering

[babydoll]

Hi all,

I am planning my upcoming vacation which I'll have about 1-2 weeks off.
I would usually just pick a tropical place and go diving and lay on a beach to get tanned. However, this time instead of pure vacation, I want to see if there's anywhere I can do to help with marine/marine life conservation and give back a bit on what I've enjoyed over the years.

I looked online and there are many choices and ranging from different costs.
Do you have any recommendations of reputable organisations to go through? Location I am considering anywhere in Asia and Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Pacific islands) for my ease of travel. I'm AOW certified and been diving for a few years regularly.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

 

[DENLASCUBA]

There are a few online organizations that offer volunteer work for Marine Conservation in Phuket, I have seen some information in the past where you will do some work with the Phuket Marine Biology Center. Here is some information directly from the Tourism Authority of Thailand web page Responsible Eco-Tourism and Marine Conservation in Phuket You can try to contact the organization mentioned here for more information. I have met quite a few people who do volunteer work for marine conservation but went through the online agencies you can find all over the web, and they paid quite a lot and said they did not feel like they were really getting much out of it for the high prices some had to pay. Some I have heard and seen can start at 2500-3,000 USD for two weeks.

I am an contracted instructor and consultant for a project in Myanmar and understand the financial situation of these projects but proceed carefully as there are a lot of these "agencies" that are profiting quite a bit from the volunteers who pay and give little of those funds to the actual project. Depending on the project and area you choose the prices will vary due to accommodation, food, transport, visas ect, and some are more "luxurious" I guess you could say compared to to others. Also get as much info in regards to the project area you will be working in and your accommodations as pictures can be misleading. If you can try to find the project the agency is doing the bookings for and try to contact them directly, sometimes it involves alot of checking but this way you can ensure the money you are paying out is going towards the porject.

 

[descent]

... instead of pure vacation, I want to see if there's anywhere I can do to help with marine/marine life conservation ...

The Oceanic Society offers volunteer vacations. Each trip is a research expedition, with plenty of scientific field work for everyone, but also has scheduled time for entertainment and relaxation.

For example, last summer, they went to Ulithi to design a reef management program with the locals.