The Big Picture
Action Asia|Action Diver 2019 - 2020

It can be difficult to envision the payback for a lot of marine protections. This makes them hard to enforce. Here are three different ways Asia saves its shores.

Melissa Hobson
The Big Picture

For divers and dive professionals, protecting our coral reefs and the marine ecosystem is of the utmost importance. Yet it can be a challenge to know how to help these beautiful environments when acting as an individual – whether that be a tourist, diver, dive guide or even a dive shop. Here are three distinct initiatives that illustrate different approaches to community action, which can combine for much greater overall impact.

The tale of the thresher shark

Dive operators themselves can lead to change in legislation, as has successfully been demonstrated in Malapascua, in the Philippines. The island’s waters are home to Monad Shoal and its beguiling pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus). Tourists travel from around the globe and head to Monad in the early hours of the morning to see these elegant sharks.

It’s at dawn that the threshers, tails the length of their bodies, climb from their normal range at 150m to visit several cleaning stations on seamounts at a depth of around 30m. The shoal is the only known location worldwide where the threshers predictably visit recreational-diving depths.

Monad Shoal was established as a Marine Protected Area in 2002. Despite the municipality collecting a marine-park fee of 150 pesos (US$3) from tourists, it has never been altogether clear how the money is used. The lack of maintenance of mooring buoys was a persistent problem. Some illegal fishing of the sharks was also still taking place.

The dive centres of Malapascua decided something had to be done. In 2010, several of them banded together to form the Malapascua Marine Protection Fund. Evolution Diving Resort was a founding member of the initiative, and has long ranked in the Green Fins Top 10, testament to its environmental credentials.

Bu hikaye Action Asia dergisinin Action Diver 2019 - 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Action Asia dergisinin Action Diver 2019 - 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

ACTION ASIA DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Policing Paradise
Action Asia

Policing Paradise

Palau’s President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr has established his country in the vanguard of global efforts on ocean conservation, in particular with the 2015 designation of much of its territorial waters as a marine reserve and no-take zone. Policing this vast area though remains immensely challenging.

time-read
5 dak  |
September - October 2019
The Not-So-Silent World
Action Asia

The Not-So-Silent World

Human activities may be emitting levels of noise that harm marine life.

time-read
3 dak  |
September - October 2019
Once Were Warriors
Action Asia

Once Were Warriors

A visit to the 2018 World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan is a surreal trip to a time and place where martial skills matter.

time-read
7 dak  |
September - October 2019
The Secret Life Of Pangolins
Action Asia

The Secret Life Of Pangolins

PALAWAN – IT’S 1AM AND MOST PEOPLE are safely in their beds. Instead I’m deep in the jungles of Palawan with an international team of researchers and a squad of Philippine Marines, searching for pangolins, the most illegally trafficked mammals on Earth.

time-read
6 dak  |
September - October 2019
Feast Your Senses
Action Asia

Feast Your Senses

The Alta Via 1 is the classic Dolomite trail, bringing the peaks within arm’s reach as you hike between homely refugios and historic war-time fortifications.

time-read
10+ dak  |
September - October 2019
China's Olympians Show The Way
Action Asia

China's Olympians Show The Way

WITH 40 RIDERS FROM 12 COUNTRIES, THE KTA made its second visit to the Desaru Coast in Malaysia with its Asia Pacific Hydrofoil Tour Series , which welcomes amateur and professional riders a like . Chinese Youth Olympians Haoran Zhang and Jingle Chen took first places in the Men’s and Women’s classes, while Korean veteran Soon Ho Kwon was crowned champion in the Masters.

time-read
1 min  |
September - October 2019
China's Masses Warming To Snow
Action Asia

China's Masses Warming To Snow

TWO YEARS AGO, CHINA opened the world’s largest indoor ski slope with two black runs, a blue run, snow play area and beginner slopes all served by chairlifts and magic carpets. Interestingly, it choose to build this behemoth in Harbin, where real snow piles high every winter and temperatures plunge low enough to host the annual International Ice and Snow Festival.

time-read
3 dak  |
September - October 2019
A Quieter, Cleaner Everest In Store?
Action Asia

A Quieter, Cleaner Everest In Store?

FOLLOWING RECORD deaths during the Everest climbing season earlier this year, Nepal’s government and the climbing community are suggesting a new list of preconditions for any summit attempt.

time-read
1 min  |
September - October 2019
A Life List Of Adventure
Action Asia

A Life List Of Adventure

There’s a first time for everything. But some firsts matter more: experiences that are life-altering, that change perspective, build confidence and teach you about all you can do and all you can be.

time-read
8 dak  |
September - October 2019
Virtual Reality As A Travel Sales Tool
Action Asia

Virtual Reality As A Travel Sales Tool

Virtual Reality As A Travel Sales Tool

time-read
2 dak  |
May - June 2018