Putting Your Thoughts to the Care of Our Coral Reefs
The Green Fins Slogan Contest
Bangkok, 13 March 2007 – Tourists, diving and snorkeling enthusiasts in 10 Asian
countries will get a chance to pen their thoughts on the preservation and conservation of
coral reefs in the Green Fins Slogan Contest which begins today and runs till midnight 30
April 2007. The competition, organized by the East Asian Seas Regional Coordinating
Unit ((EAS/RCU), the Secretariat of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia
(COBSEA) seeks to draw attention of tourists, tour and dive operators and the public to
the critical conditions of coral reefs in the region and the need for practices that do not
worsen the health of an already threatened resource.
More than a third of the world’s coral reefs are found in the East Asian Seas that
traverses Australia, Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Republic of
Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The region also has the
highest coral reef biodiversity in the world. However, pollution, tourist activities, and
destructive fishing have taken their toll on the reefs which are now in critical and
threatened condition. Around 38% of coral reefs in Southeast Asia and over 14% in
Northeast Asia have already been destroyed.
“Along with their aesthetic qualities, these coral reefs constitute an important economic
resource for the communities that depend on them for their livelihoods as well as the
fishing and tourism industry. Some studies indicate that in the Southeast Asia subregion,
coral reefs can contribute almost $2.2 billion to fisheries and US$4.8 million to tourism,”
said Dr. Srisuda Jayarabhand, Coordinator of the EAS/RCU. “As tourism grows in this
region, a trend that we are increasingly seeing, these reefs will come under increasing
threats and pressures. This contest we hope will draw attention to the importance of this
resource and hopefully generate action in helping us preserve them.”
Many of the 1.3 billion people living within a hundred kilometers of coastal areas of the
East Asian Seas region are dependent on reefs resources for their day-to-day survival.
The Green Fins Slogan Contest will culminate in an award ceremony on 30 May, 2007
that will be held in Phuket, Thailand.
The Green Fins programme was initiated by the EAS/RCU in 2004 to encourage dive and
resort operators, and inadvertently clients who use their services, to adopt
environmentally-friendly practices when diving or snorkeling around coral reefs. The
programme began in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines, three of the most popular
diving destination countries in the region. Sixty five dive operators and 200 divers are
members of this programme in Thailand. Green Fins members in Thailand have also been
active in monitoring, cleanup events and awareness activities.
“There are many licensed dive operators in the region. There is potential to reach out to
them and expand this programme, which provides an avenue through which divers and
dive operators can participate in the conservation, monitoring, and management of coral
reefs by adopting environmentally-friendly diving practices, which in turn will help
protect these coral reefs,” said Mr. Niphon Phongsuwan, Senior Coral Reef Biologist at
the Phuket Marine Biological Center.
The programme awards certificates to dive operators who carry out their operations using
environmentally-friendly guidelines. People who dive are encouraged to use tour
operators and resorts displaying the Green Fins logo and certificate. The Green Fins
programme also contributes to biophysical and socio-economic monitoring by providing
data illustrating coral reef health, level of awareness of divers, and information on dive
tour operators in the region.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Satwant Kaur, Regional Information Officer
United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,
Tel: + (66 2) 288 2127; E-mail: kaur@un.org
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Background:
The East Asian Seas, encompassing Australia, Cambodia, the People’s Republic of
China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Viet Nam harbors more than a third of the world’s coral reefs. It is also the region with
the highest coral reef biodiversity in the world, with an estimated 1.3 billion coastal
population who live within a hundred kilometers of the coasts and with many dependant
directly and indirectly on reef resources for their day-to-day survival.
However, 38% of the reefs in Southeast Asia and over 14% in Northeast Asia have
already been destroyed over the last few decades by pollution, sedimentation, tourist
activities and destructive fishing methods, leaving a large percentage in critical or
threatened conditions.
Coral reefs in the region are an important resource for the livelihoods of coastal
populations and the growing dive tourism industry The potential economic value of coral
reef fisheries, estimated at almost US$2.2 billion and tourism, estimated at US$4.8
billion, illustrates the high dependence of Southeast Asian countries on coral reefs for
food security and tourism related revenue. As tourism grows, these reefs will come under
mounting threats and pressures.
The Green Fins Programme
The “Green Fins” programme was initiated in 2004 by the East Asian Seas Regional
Coordinating Unit (EAS/RCU), the secretariat of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of
East Asia (COBSEA) – located in Bangkok, Thailand. It aims to encourage dive and
resort operators, and inadvertently clients who use their services, to adopt
environmentally-friendly practices when diving or snorkeling around coral reefs. The
programme offers an avenue through which diving enthusiasts and dive operators can
participate in conservation, monitoring, and management of coral reefs by fostering the
adoption and practice of environmentally-friendly diving, which in turn aid in protecting
the coral reefs.
The overall objective of the “Green Fins” programme is to establish a network of
environmentally-friendly dive operators that generates mutual benefits for the operators
as well as the environment in coral reef areas and to assist in coral reef monitoring. The
programme awards certificates to dive operators who carry out their operations using a
set of environmentally-friendly guidelines. Divers are encouraged to use tour operators
and resorts displaying the logo (see the “Green Fins” logo above) and certificate. “Green
Fins” can also contribute to biophysical and socio-economic monitoring by providing
data illustrating changes in the level of awareness, coral reef health, standard of living of
tour operators, and tourist behaviour, etc.
“Green Fins” was initiated in three of the most popular diving-destination countries in
the region, namely Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines. However, to date, only the
Phuket Marine Biological Center in Thailand and Ocean Adventure in Philippines are
active in implementing the programme. In Thailand, 65 diving companies are members
while 200 divers signed on as individual members. In the Philippines, only 10 dive
operators are members of the Green Fins, but there is potential to expand the programme
as licensed operators exceed 270 there. These diver operators would be targeted in the
second stage that is in progress now. In Thailand, Green Fins members have also been
involved in monitoring, cleanup events and awareness activities for students.
UNEP ROAP News Release 07/03