At Reef-World, we believe science and data are key to effective conservation, and we are committed to data-driven, evidence-based action to protect coral reefs.
Gearing up for success
Born from the innovative mind of Reef-World founder Anne Paranjoti during her early conservation work in Thailand, the Green-Amber-Red Rating System (GEARS) adapts proven financial risk mitigation strategies to address the unique challenges facing our marine ecosystems.
GEARS employs an intuitive colour-coded evaluation system that systematically assesses environmental practices and their effectiveness in reducing marine ecosystem risks:
Colour-Coded Clarity: Environmental practices receive green, amber, or red ratings based on rigorous, predefined criteria and observed compliance.
Weighted Risk Assessment: Not all environmental impacts are equal — GEARS acknowledges this reality through a weighted scoring system that prioritises the most significant threats.
Data-Driven Decision Making: The assessment highlights both strengths to celebrate and critical areas requiring immediate intervention.
Annual GEARS assessments create a powerful feedback loop that enables stakeholders to:
Track year-over-year progress with precision
Evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented changes
Identify emerging risks before they become critical problems
By providing quantifiable, actionable data, GEARS empowers stakeholders to make informed decisions that drive continuous improvement and foster truly sustainable practices.
GEARS was first applied to the Green Fins programme by Reef-World’s Directors, Chloe and JJ Harvey, in 2008, elevating it from a basic code of conduct to a dynamic, measurable conservation initiative with tangible results in reducing tourism-related damage to coral reefs.
Unlocking actionable insights at every level
By analysing Green Fins’ environmental impact data across multiple scales, we identify precisely where and how to intervene for maximum reef protection.
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For individual dive and snorkel operations, our data pinpoints specific practices creating the highest environmental risk. This granular visibility enables operators to prioritise changes that maximise ecological benefits from their operation, whether it be alternatives to anchoring, improving underwater supervision, or enhancing waste management protocols.
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When multiple operators share popular dive sites, our data reveals cumulative impacts invisible to individual businesses. We use this data to support local governments, MPA authorities, and coastal resource managers in understanding where to funnel resources, create new solutions, or collaborate to alleviate common local threats.
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At regional and national scales, we can identify patterns of widespread environmental challenges requiring coordinated strategic responses. Our government and NGO partners gain evidence-based insights to develop targeted regulations, allocate resources effectively, and implement educational campaigns addressing the most prevalent threats across multiple destinations.
This data is also used to inform our consultation strategies with partners, regional workshops, and Think Tanks at dive trade shows.
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At the global level, we unearth systemic challenges affecting marine tourism worldwide. By identifying common environmental pressure points across a diverse range of operations, we develop standardized solutions, training programs, and share best practices that elevate environmental standards throughout the industry.
We use this data to inform our partnership activities with dive training agencies, advise the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and European Underwater Federation (EUF), and represent the marine tourism industry at inter-governmental agendas regarding coral reefs and the marine environment.
“Green Fins [assessment data] provides us with a very useful management tool, it really is a tool for us to focus our efforts”
— Ab. Rahim bin Gor Yaman, previous Head of the Department of Marine Parks Malaysia
Peer-reviewed methods
Spearheaded by our Executive Director, Chloe Harvey, in 2013, our landmark study “The Green Fins approach for monitoring and promoting environmentally sustainable scuba diving operations in South East Asia”, published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management, provided evidence of the Green Fins methodology's effectiveness. This pivotal research documented how the GEARS assessment system measurably reduced environmental threats from the scuba diving industry.
The data revealed a significant improvement in dive centre assessment scores between initial and subsequent reassessments, taking Green Fins from a theoretical conservation concept to a proven approach with real-world positive outcomes.
Chloe built on this foundation by spearheading a collaboration with the University of Bangor to work with researchers to take our validation efforts to the next level. Published in the journal Environmental Management, our article “Recreational Diving Impacts on Coral Reefs and the Adoption of Environmentally Responsible Practices within the SCUBA Diving Industry” showed a powerful connection between Green Fins assessment data and direct in-situ observations of recreational divers.
The results were definitive: effective implementation of the Green Fins programme directly led to reduced diver contact with reefs, providing crucial scientific validation to our work.
Past Science Programmes
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In collaboration with the University of Bangor researchers, we developed a methodology for and collected in situ data on:
Physical contact incidents between divers and coral reefs
Intervention frequency by dive guides to prevent reef damage
Correlation between Green Fins implementation and reduced reef impacts
This study resulted in our 2016 paper “Recreational Diving Impacts on Coral Reefs and the Adoption of Environmentally Responsible Practices within the SCUBA Diving Industry”
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In 2006, in collaboration with the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC), Reef-World helped develop Reef Watch, a simple reef monitoring programme that trained recreational divers to use the rover-diver technique to monitor basic indicators of reef health. This method of coral reef monitoring can act as an alert network, resulting in a more in-depth and thorough investigations to take place by coral reef specialists.
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In June 2005, Reef-World held a coral reef survey workshop on Koh Yao Noi for local communities focused on coastal resources that act as natural barriers. This kicked off a programme to actively involve locals in mapping and rehabilitation work. The workshop used local wisdom to discover methods of reef monitoring that were generated by villagers themselves and integrated their ideas into an accepted scientific methodology.
This workshop formed part of a Community Based Tourism programme within the Thai government's CHARM (Coastal Habitats and Resource Management) initiative to build capacity and promote education in the community.
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From 1996 – 1999, we coordinated information gathered by Thai dive operators and fishermen as part of Phuket Marine Biological Centre’s database on sightings and migration patterns. This initiative started from the anecdotal sightings from fishermen that we translated into scientific data for monitoring.