Diving... Again

I've just come back from a dive trip to Bali.

It frustrates me that so many developing countries (particularly those in South East Asia) that have been blessed with beautiful dive sites do not have basic environmental preservation guidelines in place, let alone waste management controls.

Diving and dive resorts take a huge toll on reef ecosystems. Testament to this? Even sites like the Great Barrier Reef, while very well managed, are still affected. I've dived the Great Barrier before, and during the trip, a bunch of people who were holidaying on the same island and who had dived there many years before, told us the coral and reef life are totally different today.

I think the dive industry and the hospitality industry built around it are probably too far down the road for diving to be banned or severely limited, and diving is likely to remain a largely accessible sport. Of course, it will continue to be more accessible in countries that do not have proper environment protection guidelines in place, where it is consequently cheaper for dive operators and hotels to operate.

So what should we do? Obviously countries need to get their act together and come up with proper policies, but this is not the right medium to achieve that effectively.

Rather, I'd like to appeal to the dive population out there. After all, I believe environmentally responsible diving is no different from general environmental consciousness. Its all about awareness, education. Talk to your dive buddies, make them more aware of what they do and the impact it has. Don't support dive operators who are obviously just out to make a quick buck and who leave big dents in the environent in the process. And so forth.

Have a think about some of the main things that happen during a dive that could affect the environment, reef, and marine life. And make a mental note to try and stop these things, and to get your buddies to stop doing them too. My list -

- Gasoline from boat (sadly, not a whole lot you can do about this)
- Plastic wrappers and packaging, e.g. from mineral water bottles, packed lunches, etc that are not disposed of properly and get into the sea
- Related to the above point, a lack of bins
- Sunscreen: hurts when it gets in the eye doesn't it? Imagine how much it must hurt sea life
- Antifog for dive masks (just use spit)
- Cigarettes
- Bad divers who kick and damage coral (yes get trained properly and if not, don't go too close to the reef)
- Dive gear breaking down: e.g. plastic bits breaking off, etc