The island’s diving community hopes the initiative will raise environmental awareness among 10,000 tourists over the next year
JOHN’S, Antigua, September, 27, 2019 – Earlier this year, SEVENSEAS reported on Antigua and Barbuda’s adoption of the Reef-World Foundaiton’s Green Fins initiative; a programme run in partnership with the UN Environment to help dive and snorkel operators improve their environmental processes and reduce their negative impact on coral reefs. The country was the 10th government worldwide to officially adopt Green Fins and the second in the Caribbean.
The funding to implement Green Fins in Antigua and Barbuda was generously provided by the French cosmetic company Caudalie who partnered with Reef-World through the 1% for the Planet movement thanks to consultative advice received from PUR Project.
At the time of reporting, Reef-World had just trained and certified a new Antigua and Barbuda national team comprised of the Ministry of Tourism and the Fisheries Division. These new Green Fins Antigua and Barbuda assessors had already undertaken assessments of three new dive shop members and were ready to recruit, train and assess even more dive and snorkel operators across the island. A few months after its initial launch, we checked back with the team on the ground to see how the implementation of the Green Fins programme was progressing.
Vashti Casimir, Antigua and Barbuda’s Senior Tourism Officer Responsible for Sustainable Tourism, explained that another dive shop – South Coast Horizons – had successfully completed their assessment and another business is on track to be certified by the end of October. That will take the total number of Green Fins certified dive operators on the island to five.
In this initial recruitment phase of the programme, Vashti explained, a targeted approach is crucial. The team has been working on establishing: “a comprehensive list of all the dive and snorkel operators in Antigua and Barbuda, which was key.” Working strategically through this list of operators in the country, they will be able to ensure all the country’s dive and snorkel operators are aware of the programme and will be encouraged to join.
For those who might not be aware of the Green Fins programme, membership (which is free) includes a robust assessment by a certified Green Fins assessor to evaluate the operator’s environmental impact. The information gathered from this assessment is then used to provide best-practice advice, tailored to the specific circumstances and challenges faced by that dive shop. Management receives a one-to-one consultation, during which the Green Fins team works with them to help them develop a plan for improving sustainable practices with practical tips on how best to implement any changes. In this way, Green Fins helps the dive operators find feasible alternatives to common threats to the marine environment; whether it’s anchoring, single-use plastics, proper waste disposal or something else. As the membership is free, this in-depth industry knowledge and advice (as well as training for all the dive shop’s staff) is provided just for the cost of a tank or two of air (enabling the assessor to join and observe a normal dive trip that’s already running for guests).
The five dive shops already involved in Green Fins have had extremely positive feedback, Vashti explained: “They have indicated that the tips they have received have been extremely helpful and they have been slowly making changes as suggested through their last assessment.”
What’s more, just a couple of months in and they’re already seeing the benefit in terms of attracting new customers and driving business. “Some have actually had guests who have chosen their business as a result of their participation in the Green Fins programme!” Vashti explained.
Overall, it’s been a positive start for Green Fins Antigua and Barbuda. I asked Vashti about the benefits they’ve seen so far: “Adopting this programme on a national level has seen an increase in the awareness of the need to protect the marine environment and efforts by actual operators to adopt practices that ensure that protection. As well, there has been increased awareness of the regulations in place by the government to protect the environment and willingness by the private sector to assist in monitoring which will be extremely helpful with enforcement. The programme has allowed for increased interest, positive changes and increased collaboration.”
So, what next? Despite its early successes, there is still “a bit of a way to go”, Vashti tells me. The national team hopes many more dive and snorkel operators on the island – there are estimated to be around 30 – will sign up to become members so will be working hard on this in the coming months. If your company is based in Antigua and Barbuda and offers diving and snorkelling tours, do get in touch to find out how Green Fins can help you protect coral reefs for future generations.
The Reef-World Foundation leads the global implementation of the UN Environment’s Green Fins initiative, which focuses on driving environmentally friendly scuba diving and snorkelling practices across the industry globally. To keep up with our latest news and developments, please follow Reef-World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You can also follow the Green Fins initiative on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date with new materials, updates and sustainability insights from Green Fins members.
By Melissa Hobson, The Reef-World Foundation
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media