News
Curaçao emerges to be the next greatest dive destination at DEMA 2018!
The Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao is surrounded by more than 104 sq. km (40 sq. miles) of some of the best coral reefs in the Caribbean which has remained off the radar for most diving enthusiasts. At this year’s DEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Curaçao Hospitality and Tourism Association’s (CHATA) Dive Task Force emerged as a truly competitive World Class Vacation and Diving destination, positioning themselves directly against other notable destinations such as Bonaire, Cayman Islands and Cozumel to name a few.
With some of the most biodiverse reefs in the whole of the Caribbean Sea and a cultural heritage to match, the CHATA Dive Task Force took its responsibilities very seriously with a fun and passionate approach at this year’s DEMA Show, especially towards Curacao’s conservation efforts. Chief amongst the programs is the island’s commitment to Project AWARE’s ‘Adopt A Dive Site’ Initiative. This commitment was even further underlined during one of the seminars presented by Project AWARE, where they used Curaçao as a case study for other destinations to follow.
“It’s great to see that the International diving community has become more aware of Curaçao as a prime Diving and Vacation destination. We are seeing an increase of dive tourism already and I personally applaud the members of the CHATA Dive Task Force for their selfless collaboration for the benefit of Curaçao. I personally believe, that by working together we will all succeed in making Curaçao a World Class destination where conservation and sustainability are everyone’s responsibility.” Mr. Mick Bosman, Chairman, CHATA Dive Task Force.
Healthy coral reefs are attracting all kinds of marine life visitors, and hopefully more human visitors now, too. So, when deciding to come to Curaçao, please do not limit your experience to either the East or the West. Discover all of Curaçao and the incredible magic that lies just below the waterline, to uncover a World Class diving and vacation destination where conservation truly meets your next Caribbean adventure!
Don’t wait, Dive into Winter and take the plunge into our warm turquoise waters, but be prepared for your senses to be overwhelmed by a 360-degree kaleidoscope of intense colour and abundant life!
Gear News
Introducing the Aqua-Trek Evo Drysuit from BARE
This lightweight Aqua-Trek Evo drysuit from BARE is patterned after the flagship X-Mission Evolution using the company’s exclusively engineered Cordura® Nylon Oxford 4-Layer fabric for a durable and breathable design. The Aqua-Trek Evo is ready for wherever your adventure takes you.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS
- Lighter weight breathable material that offers enhanced flexibility over current butyl trilaminate
- Lightweight low-profile plastic dry zipper
- 2mm nylon/smoothskin “Smart Collar” with vented neck drain provides an improved seal with the BARE dry hood
- Low-profile valves Lightweight low-profile plastic dry zipper and offset protected zipper flap to avoid contact between dry zipper and outer flap
- Anatomically shaped torso, arms and legs
- M-PADz knee protection with 2mm neoprene backing provides added padding for comfort
- 2 needle “felled seam” construction increases seam integrity, is low-profile and less prone to abrasion, and finishes for a clean look
- Flexible double-taped reinforcement at “critical wear” seam points for added durability
- Bellow Pocket with D-ring and drain grommets on each thigh
- Field replaceable 4-point suspenders and crotch strap
- Tech dry boots installed
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Material:
- Exclusively engineered and durable Cordura® Nylon Oxford 4-Layer fabric
- Lighter weight, breathable material that offers enhanced flexibility, abrasion and puncture resistance
Find out more about BARE products at www.baresports.com.
Sea & Sea is the home of BARE and other Huish Outdoors diving brands in the UK.
Blogs
Reef-World marks two decades of marine conservation: strengthening impact amid coral reef threats
Empowering ocean stakeholders to tackle future challenges and ensure the survival of coral reefs and humanity
2024 marks the 20th Anniversary of The Reef-World Foundation’s tireless efforts for global coral reef conservation. The UK charity is the international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative, known as the leading voice in sustainable marine tourism. Today, Reef-World released its 2023-2024 Impact Report outlining a year of substantive growth and impact in its marine conservation programmes.
Impact Report Highlights:
- Impressive improvements in environmental behaviours to protect coral reefs by the marine tourism industry as the global participation of Green Fins increases.
- Continued capacity building for government and NGO staff to effectively manage marine tourism activities in Asia, Caribbean and Red Sea regions.
- For the first time in Green Fins’ 20-year history, tourism operators have achieved ‘Best Environmental Performer’ status by demonstrating the lowest possible environmental impact in their environmental assessments. In 2024, three dive operators achieved this challenging milestone.
- Significant increases in global participation of Reef-World’s innovative digital conservation tools.
- 138 Green Fins dive operator members achieved the strict threshold for PADI Eco Center recognition.
- Developed four new educational materials and translated two into 16 languages to support the marine tourism industry in achieving sustainability targets.
- Establishing a new Reef-World Development strategy and recruiting new roles – Development and Programmes Managers.
- Reef-World’s board welcomes new Chair and Trustees strengthening organisational leadership.
Reef-World started as a one-person mission to inspire and empower communities to act in conserving and sustainably developing coral reefs and related ecosystems. Today, the team of 12 continues to meet this mission by inspiring and empowering the global marine tourism community to be exemplary sustainability leaders by using the Green Fins guidelines and tools to simultaneously use and protect the world’s precious reefs.
In April 2024, the fourth global coral reef bleaching event was confirmed. Reef-World’s work has never been more urgent as the marine environment, and the benefits they provide humanity, continue to be eroded by global threats. The reduction of local threats, like those from the marine tourism industry, is an essential step to ensuring a future where coral reefs survive and continue to support the millions of people who depend on their ecosystem benefits. Reef-World’s work buys time for coral reefs and related ecosystems to be resilient to the impacts of global threats.
“Right now our corals are facing the greatest fight of their existence as the terrifying predictions of the steps towards their complete extinction are starting to come true. But all is not lost, reefs are resilient and they have existed on this planet for millions of years. We must take action now, to buy time for reefs by reducing threats facing them and allowing them to react and adjust to the changing environment they need to survive in.” – Chloe Harvey, Executive Director
Looking Forwards:
Like coral reefs, the Reef-World team needs to be resilient in the face of the complex challenges of the conservation sector. Reef-World has invested significantly in developing a Culture of Care to ensure the well-being of its team on a daily basis, continuing to be an exemplary employer to enable its team to best achieve the mission for coral reef conservation.
With the foundations of a Culture of Care and organisational development laid, Reef-World is emerging from the end of a natural organisation life cycle, that brings the challenges of growth and scale, stronger than ever. With a new strategy in place to generate much needed resources, Reef-World is excited for the opportunities to leap forward, continue to scale our impact and lean into new innovations and untapped opportunities for marine conservation.
We continually strive to become a forward-thinking organisation that delivers on our goals and commitments to our stakeholders with fresh approaches and not being afraid of steering away from a “normal approach.” This approach is not only applied to our programmes of work but also internally and carries over to our Culture of Care for our team.” — JJ Harvey, Operations Director
The Reef-World Foundation is immensely grateful for the continued support of its grant funders: UN Environment Programme, IUCN’s Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility, Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, PADI Aware Foundation, and World Nomads Footprints Program.
Reef-World would also like to express its gratitude to international partners whose vital support has resulted in significant tangible benefits for our work and mission: PADI; Professional SCUBA Schools International (PSS); Explorer Ventures; 1% for the Planet; ZuBlu; Snorkel Venture, GSTC; Dive O’Clock; Seven Dragons; DiveAssure and Eco Beach, without whom these achievements would not be possible.
The full 2023–2024 Annual Impact Report is available on Reef-World’s website.
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