ECO PRO
Part V: How to “Blue” Your Business and Make More Green - The CORAL Interview by Gil Zeimer , ScubaStoryteller.com and Zeimer.com, San Rafael, CA
T HIS SERIES HAS PRESENTED “BLUE” initiatives that can make your business more sustainable and help increase your bottom line. Part V focuses on how the Coral Reef Alliance is expanding its global grassroots initiative, and how dive shops, liveaboards, and resorts can help. It takes a village to save a coral reef. As one of the largest global NGOs focused exclusively on protecting coral reefs, the Coral Reef Alliance has used cutting-edge science and community engagement for more than 30 years. It’s worked at local, regional, and global levels to reduce direct threats to reefs, as well as to promote scalable and effective solutions for their protection. CORAL’s team of passionate conserva- tionists envisions a world where coral reefs are healthy enough to adapt to climate change and survive for generations to come. They advance this mission through four core strategies that: 1) Establish well-managed marine pro- tected areas. 2) Reduce land-based pollution, espe- cially wastewater that harms reefs. 3) Protect and strengthen networks of climate-re- silient coral reefs. 4) Advance science-based conservation at regional and global scales. Here’s what dive-related businesses can do to help save more coral reefs in more places worldwide: 1)Become a CORAL Corporate Partner by making a tax- deductible donation. You can support CORAL in a va- riety of ways, with a donation through your workplace or by a matching donation. For example, a $100 donation helps support reef moni- toring and water quality sampling to detect pollution and coral stress early, while a $500 donation funds com- munity workshops and technical planning for waste- water solutions and watershed restoration. 2)Volunteer to host a fundraiser or plan your own: A dive club in Texas pooled its donations to raise about $32,000 a few years ago. This helped the Roatan Marine
Park hire a ranger and purchase a dive boat to patrol the area along the island’s east side to curtail illegal fishing and protect its reef areas. This fundraiser covered two years of operational costs. 3)Collaborate on a local beach debris or an ocean clean- up. For example, Sun Divers Roatan participated in a PADI Dive Against Debris last year on Blue Friday, a beach clean-up that pulled 94.48 lbs. of trash out of the waters of Half Moon Bay. 4)“Jump on The Blue Friday Bandwagon” to “Don’t Shop… Dive” on Black Friday. Coordinate with
CORAL’s efforts to expand Blue Friday to rethink how our choices impact the planet. By dedicating a day to diving, ex- ploring, or even cleaning up our waters instead of consuming more, Blue Friday reminds us that the best gifts we can give are our time, awareness, and action for the ocean. 5) Order CORAL-branded reef-safe rash guards, water bottles, and other Earth-friendly gear that support healthy reefs and prevent plastic pollution. I’ve
been using my own water bottle on my last two dive trips vs. single-use plastic bottles that fall overboard to threaten our coral reefs. 6) Stock only reef-safe sunscreens that do not con- tain oxybenzone, octinoxate, or octocrylene, which are chemicals that are known to harm coral reefs and pose a threat to human health. Instead, sell “marine safe”, non-nano mineral-based sunscreens like Stream2Sea products. 7)Tackle the primary threats that contribute to reef de- cline, such as pollution, overfishing, coral disease, ma- rine heatwaves, and stronger hurricanes. The solutions are to protect shorelines from powerful storms; support livelihoods through fishing and tourism; and hold deep cultural significance for coastal communities. 8)Support Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to deliver real results for reefs, populations, and local communities. CORAL has four hubs worldwide: The Hawaiian Islands
FORTY-SIX | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
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