Enjoyed part I of our discussion? Great! Let’s jump straight back in with part II….
Meet the Hosts
Natalie Harms, UNEP
Natalie is Marine Litter Focal Point at UNEP’s COBSEA Secretariat: the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) is a Regional Seas programme and intergovernmental body for the protection of the East Asian Seas. Natalie is passionate about reducing marine debris and is particularly concerned about the surge in the volume of plastic waste (such as masks and gloves) that has been seen as a result of the pandemic.
Chloe Harvey, The Reef-World Foundation
A passionate scuba diver and marine biologist. As a Director at The Reef-World Foundation, Chloe is leading the charity’s global Green Fins initiative. Through Green Fins, the charity is driving sustainable practices across the diving and snorkelling industry.
Meet the Panel
Rachel Huber, Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet
Rachel manages Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet’s digital presence and spearheads sustainable operations. Part of the EV family for over 13 years, she started as a dive instructor on the Caribbean liveaboards and eventually switched over to the land-based team. Rachel is your go-to woman for anything fleet-related - from favourite dive sites and sustainability to social media.
Adam Broadbent, ZuBlu
Adam is the co-founder of ZuBlu, a travel platform helping scuba divers and marine enthusiasts discover and book their next underwater adventure in Asia and beyond. With its unique experiential search tool, over 500 eco-friendly resorts and liveaboards to choose from, and a commitment to conserving the marine environment, ZuBlu helps you explore the blue and dive green.
Peisee Hwang, Bubbles Dive Centre
Peisee is a PADI MSDT, Reef Check instructor, and co-founder of Bubbles Turtle and Reef Conservation project. She is also co-owner of Bubbles Dive resort, founded in 2004, and has significantly improved the centre’s environmental impact scores since joining Green Fins five years ago. Peisee is the joint winner of the 2020 Green Fins award for the top dive centre this year (tied with Tioman Dive Centre and Flora Bay Divers).
How does Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet consider the environment in your operational procedures when it comes to Covid safety measures?
Rachel, Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet:
There's no rulebook for a pandemic and how dive operators, whether you're liveaboard or land based, are to respond. Health and safety of guests and divers is priority. But, with that in mind, environmental consciousness remains at the heart of what we do. So, luckily for us, we were already well established with Green Fins as well as our own sustainability strategy called Dive Green on our Caribbean vessels. So when COVID happened, it wasn't as hard as we expected. We had to do a little bit of creative thinking, extra communication and extra research but we were able to just charge ahead because our environmental policy and onboard procedures were already established. Some new elements were added: for instance, gloves, masks and sanitiser.
But some of the things that have happened in the policies for COVID have actually helped. Liveaboards are essentially floating hotels: you have your meals, you have your room, you have dining in one place. Every day, rooms are being cleaned just like they would in a hotel. One of the policies that was adapted for COVID was social distancing and keeping the cleaners out of the room provided more space. We were able to continue to offer that as an option for cleaning rooms and found that most divers actually don't want their rooms cleaned anymore. They want to have that space instead. That means less water usage, less linen washing, fewer cleaning products being used. So, that's one example of where policies adapted for Covid have actually helped sustainability. We're learning as we go.
How is ZuBlu helping guests to find eco friendly options and what are they looking for?
Adam, ZuBlu: We've been in close contact with all of our community and did a survey to understand some of their wishes for the future. Some of the really exciting stuff that came out of that was that 84% of scuba divers want to book eco friendly options when they travel. The challenge we had there was 75% of them struggle to know what to look for when making those travel decisions. For us, that highlights a few things. Firstly, there's a huge energy, unsurprisingly, for scuba divers to travel more consciously; however, they really need help in that decision making.
The results from the survey, I think, really show people are keen for information about the steps companies are making to be more green. Organisations should be highlighting that in everything they're doing, whether it's big or small, so it helps people make better decisions right from the beginning. AT ZuBlu, we try to play a big part in that. We very carefully select who we partner with: we've now got over 500 operators, resorts and liveaboards across Asia and beyond that we're really proud to work with. We've collaborated with Green Fins, which has an amazing membership of operators that are getting annually assessed and working passionately towards being more sustainable. So looking for a Green Fins operator is one of the first things any diver can do when making their travel decisions and we highlight that on our platform.
There's so much information coming out about protecting ourselves against COVID. Is it possible to prioritise the environment while following these?
Rachel, Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet: Anything around COVID definitely takes some thought. I would really encourage people to become their own environmental detective: looking at and educating themselves on what it means to be sustainable and what to look out for with these operators. With everybody adapting to these COVID policies, there's no perfection out there. There’s no one way of doing things to meet both COVID policies and meet sustainability. So I would encourage people to dig a little bit deeper and do their research because there are operators out there meeting both of those goals in different ways. So I really do think it is possible. It just takes a little bit extra effort.
Adam, ZuBlu: It's an enormous challenge for all operators at the moment. There are a lot of big efforts going on. For example, Green Fins recently launched in Egypt and Egypt has also put in guidelines for their operators about how to handle COVID and to operate more responsibly. There's a little bit of leaning as go when it comes to cleaning equipment: you need to find a product that destroys the potential of COVID but also protects the reef at the same time. I think certain businesses have this management culture right from the beginning. The previous panel mentioned Fourth Element and you can see it with Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet. Those businesses that have sustainability coming right from the top, and it's led as a core part of their business, they will find a way to navigate through this and make sure sustainability is still considered rather than cutting corners. It is a challenge but if you dig a bit deeper there are businesses and operators that are finding a way to navigate it.
Katie, PADI: Also, if you don't see it as forthright on their website or in their materials, it doesn't mean that it's not the core of what they do. It’s always worth communicating and seeing what they're doing.
What are the challenges or successes that you’ve encountered in implementing Green Fins operations on liveaboards?
Rachel, Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet: The challenges and successes, for us, have gone hand in hand. Before we first started with Green Fins, our sustainability journey started 15 years ago with our own Dive Green strategy and, unfortunately, it was a little bit before the time. So, that was a challenge that was faced but when the Green Fins team was able to come in, in the last couple years, that ended up helping us move forward with our sustainability,
One of the reasons why it was challenging was because liveaboards operate across borders, open oceans and remote destinations: some of the most remote places in the world is where liveaboards go. It ends up having policies that have to meet the policies of all the marine protected areas as well as the governments etc. It ends up being quite challenging to meet those goals. But that’s also allowed us through Green Fins and through our own strategy to raise our standards and improve on what we were working on. We ended up having to create our own Dive Green strategy, with Green Fins spearheaded within that, because we needed to create policies that worked for our liveaboards. That was a challenge but it was also a very big success.
As we're moving forward, we're evolving those and coming across other challenges. One of the things that people might not be aware of is getting permissions for certain cleaning agents or products that are green or better for the environment is very hard in certain locations. The wait time can sometimes be up to two months and during COVID it's been much longer than that. So, we don't always get first choice of what we want to have on board. So, ordering and provisioning becomes very hard for some destinations. Now that we’ve been working at this for a couple of years it’s a lot easier to get these things: we think ahead and order ahead so we can get the first choice of products and materials that we'd like to have on board.
Coming out of lockdown post-pandemic, what should divers be thinking about when they're planning their first trip and how can the industry promote eco friendly, low impact dives?
Adam, ZuBlu: For us, we always stand by the mantra that sustainable travel starts at home and at ZuBlu we try to play an active role in that. We're very proud of all those partners and we're here to provide you with a personalised travel service and answer any questions you have related to sustainability, experience or even COVID
Thinking about planning from home, there's a lot of other decisions you can make around what equipment you bring. We talked earlier with Jacob from Paralenz and the cameras they have are fantastic and help with citizen science. Fourth Element has just launched their new wetsuit, Surface, which is a plant-based neoprene.
The one thing we're seeing a lot more now is a real energy for people to get involved in impactful experiences, like citizen science, when they travel. We’re seeing more and more operators include additional experiences alongside the traditional dive trips and I think promoting those is a really big thing moving forwards. For example, the Manta Trust works with mantra expeditions where travellers can go on trips led by marine biologists, learn and play an active role in research on those trips. It's really exciting to see an increase in impact experiences, or “eco ventures” as we call them. We're actively curating and trying to work with our partners to pull together all of those initiatives and programmes that people can get involved in and we'd love to see more of those happening. 92% of scuba divers want to become more eco conscious and more sustainable divers. Part of that is about getting involved in impactful experiences so that's a big thing for resorts and liveaboards and operators to embrace moving forwards as well.
If I notice irresponsible behaviour on a dive trip, what should I do?
Rachel, Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet: It's a very interesting dynamic because we're service oriented industry as divers and dive instructors. It puts you in a challenging space to figure out exactly how to respond to what you're seeing. The right thing is always to say something or encourage them to correct their behavior but not in a confrontational way. For instance, if you're seeing a photographer that's laying on the reef, it's good to have a conversation with them.
We're all spokespeople and we're all ambassadors for the ocean. So I would encourage people to say something, get more involved and spread that knowledge as much as you can before a dive or before it comes to a situation where the environment is being harmed.
Adam, ZuBlu: It's always challenging having a conversation with anyone when they might disagree with you. Handling those situations happens in normal life, let alone underwater. I think it's our responsibility to speak up. If you know the person then hopefully it's very easy to have that conversation pretty quickly. If you don't feel you’re in the position to speak with them directly, speak to the dive guide, the leader on the boats or the resource manager and get them involved. One of the easiest ways to do it is to make sure it’s raised in the next dive briefing.
Bubbles Dive Centre has made such good progress over the past years by taking feedback from Green Fins on board. How have your customers and staff reacted to some of the changes you've made?
Peisee, Bubbles Dive Centre: To teach our staff about conservation was a little hard because they are village folk. It was a great asset because since we joined Green Fins they have seen that we’re doing something different and appreciate what we’re doing. I told them “you can’t throw cigarette butts in the sea anymore - you should carry ashtray with you.” The first year we got into the Green Fins top 10 they then started to really appreciate what we are doing.
How can I find out more about sanitising products for scuba gear?
Chloe, Reef-World: If you have a look at the Green Fins website, we have some guidance on how to follow the regulations but then also dispose of those chemicals in responsible ways. Please go to the Green Fins website and go to downloads and you'll find the chemical cleaning product guidelines there. I'd also like to recommend the DAN cleaning guidelines as well, which we had an opportunity to review and provide some input into. Fourth Element is also providing a cleaning product that has been tested and shown to be effective at removing COVID but it's completely environmentally friendly and it can be disposed of straight into the ocean. Please have a look at their website. At the moment, unless they've made any changes, it's only available in Europe but I know they’re trying to make that more widely available as well.
Bubbles Dive Centre won the 2020 Green Fins award - tell us about your conservation efforts.
Peisee, Bubbles Dive Centre: We have a nightly talk to all our guests who checked in the day before or on the same day. We will have an onsite conservation project so they tell them what we are doing and what to do if the turtle is landing. During the talk, we also will tell them about our environmental efforts because that way we can spread awareness directly to them. Not everybody goes through our homepage to get information and they don't like to read a lot of wordy stuff. So we deal with stuff like that. We also tell them about no sunscreen, the effort of no straws. We were the first resort on Perhentian Island that went no straws and we actually went and talked to the other operators and Perhentian now is one of the greenest islands in the whole of Malaysia. And now we do not provide any drinking bottles. I may sell them because some guests really demand plastic bottles because they feel safer that way. But I price them at a higher price. When they ask me why, I say I really discourage them and that we have free drinking water for them instead.
How can people get involved in conservation at your dive centre?
Peisee, Bubbles Dive Centre: We always like to share what is the right way of doing things. Our dive instructors practice teaching their students to be the greenest possible or making the lesser damage to the environment as they can. And all the products we use are environmentally friendly: we make cleaning products, we make our own sunscreen using Shea butter and coconut oil. So those are all okay to use and are not toxic to the environment. We will also have a recipe and share from the dive center so that people can recall what they learned from us. We believe that an environmental mind is a true of spreading the values and sharing with everybody.
Key takeouts from part II
All of us have a role to play and all of us can take responsibility: divers and their families, snorkellers, staff at centers, equipment makers etc. - there's something that all of us can do
Make it really visible and transparent because there is demand out there and we can catalyse more demand for sustainable diving
Share your experiences: share where to get eco products and share the great stuff that you're doing because that will really inspire change
This is an opportunity to change the way that we're doing things and to experience that change or to share it with others as well.
Thank you for joining us - we hope to see you at DEMA 2020 in November!
