ADEX is proud to be a Supporting Media Partner of Green Fins in efforts of sustainable diving and marine conservation.
Sam is a marine biologist turned conservationist who has been diving for 20 years. She has been working with UK charity The Reef-World Foundation since 2012, focusing on the Green Fins programme and bringing practical tools to governments, marine tourism businesses and communities around the world.
Sam believes that we can all play our part to safeguard fragile coral reefs if we have the right knowledge, tools and skills, and the newly launched Green Fins Diver e-course aims to provide us with exactly that. Here’s Sam to tell us more.
Recreational divers looking to learn how to conduct more environmentally friendly dives and protect coral reefs, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, can now look forward to a new digital diving course online.
The Reef-World Foundation – the international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme‘s Green Fins – is excited to announce the launch of the new Green Fins Diver e-Course for divers to get involved and make a difference beneath the waves.
Following the success of the 2019 Green Fins Dive Guide e-Course, join this year’s Green Fins Diver e-Course in learning more about sustainable diving, where participants are trained to prevent diving-related damage to coral reefs, according to the highest environmental standards as set out by the Green Fins initiative.
Climate change is still a pressing issue — the pandemic has not taken that away. Additionally, diving-related damage to sensitive marine ecosystems makes them less likely to survive.
An average of 70% of divers contact the reef while diving.* Divers contact the reef an average of 5.79 times per dive and 36% of those who contacted the reef were unaware they did so. And in the scuba community that’s dedicated to going underwater, the cumulative impact is significant: Over one million new divers are certified annually and ‘on-reef’ tourism is valued at USD $19 billion per year.
If these millions of divers learn how to be more environmentally aware and have zero impact dives, it would have a huge impact on the protection of our precious coral reefs for future generations.
All divers, whether professional or recreational, can minimise their impact on the ocean by following environmental best practice while diving. It teaches divers how to behave on the reef sustainable; helping to protect coral and other marine life one dive at a time. Divers around the world can take this course for just £19 by enrolling here.
This e-Course is packed with straightforward techniques such as best environmental practices from equipment care to underwater photography, above and below the water, which are proven to reduce the level of environmental damage associated with diving.
The course provides divers with three online modules of easy-to-follow content followed by corresponding tests on an intuitive, user-friendly platform
- Module 1: An introduction to coral reef biology, global and local threats to the marine environment and the Green Fins approach.
- Module 2: Management techniques above water, such as how to prepare and plan an environmentally friendly dive trip: from booking your trip at home to best practices on the boat and caring for your equipment post dive.
- Module 3: Applying best diving practices below water on every dive, learning tips for diving with the least environmental impact and how to have longer marine life interactions as well as how to be an environmentally responsible underwater photographer. Finally, suggesting ways in which divers can use the best practices they have learned and contribute to citizen science projects.
There is a short test at the end of each module which the diver must pass in order to finish the course.
The course is available for £19. On completion, students will receive a personalised electronic certificate, which is valid for two years and can be displayed as a stamp of individual awareness. The course content will be updated regularly with the latest industry knowledge about environmental best practice. After two years, students are encouraged to retake the course to refresh their skills.
The proceeds from course certificates support Reef-World’s work to implement the Green Fins programme around the world. Divers who cannot afford to take the course can apply for the Green Fins Diver e-Course Scholarship Fund to receive the certification free of charge.
The Green Fins Diver e-Course is more critical than ever to help ensure the survival of reefs and the diving industry. Divers now have a clear roadmap to champion environmental sustainability as our tourism industries build back better.
-Gabriel Grimsditch, Marine Ecosystems Expert
UN Environment Programme
The Green Fins Diver e-Course enables divers from all backgrounds to become more environmentally aware, understand the main environmental threats posed by scuba diving and be able to minimise those threats. We’re so proud of the results from our 2019 course and we’re excited that we can now also meet demand from recreational divers worldwide who want to reduce their negative impact on the coral reefs they visit.
-JJ Harvey, Director at The Reef-World Foundation
Green Fins is the only internationally recognised environmental standard for dive and snorkel operators, established through a partnership between the UN Environment Programme and The Reef-World Foundation. Green Fins uses a unique and proven three-pronged approach; green certifications of dive centres, strengthening regulations and environmental education for dive staff, divers and government.
ADEX is proud to be a Supporting Media Partner of Green Fins in efforts of sustainable diving and marine conservation.
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For more information, or to sign up for the Green Fins Diver e-Course, please visit: https://greenfins.net/green-fins-diver/
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* Figures from Reef-World’s #RedefinetheDive campaign (IYOR 2018). See: https://greenfins.net/news/green-fins-iyor-2018/.
Hear more about Green Fins!
Getter deeper insights into Green Fins!
- Day/Date: 8 September 2021, Wed
- Time: 12:00 PM (Singapore/Philippines) | 5:00 AM (London, UK) | 12:00 AM (New York, USA)
- Where: ADEX Official FB Page | APE Homepage
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#APE 8TH MONTHLY VIRTUAL EVENT 2021 SCHEDULE – SEPTEMBER SERIES
Organised by the digital platform for ADEX Asia Dive Expo, ADEX Pixel Expo, #APE 8th Monthly Virtual Event 2021 celebrates the diversity of the ocean and its diving landscape, with a series of events happening on the 8th of each month, with an aim to bring trending dialogue and deep-rooted tales on the pulse of scuba diving, with inspirational guests and insightful stories!
This September Edition focuses on Dive Safety and Education. Click here to find out more about upcoming events and schedule!