In this week’s Community Spotlight, Project AWARE catches up with Marcel Van Den Berg, a course director on Koh Tao, Thailand.

Tell us about your passion for ocean conservation.

I am a course director working for Sairee Cottage Diving on Koh Tao and been very active with marine conservation since 2007. I’m also very proud to be part of a team of dive center owners that have set up the Eco Conservation group: Get Involved Koh Tao.

Why and when did you get involved with Project AWARE?

I got involved with Project AWARE the day I started my open water diving course. But the biggest shift towards direct action was when I became an instructor.

My course directors really encouraged me to create awareness and inspire others. That’s when I started working more directly with the Project AWARE team. I knew I wanted ocean protection to be at the heart of my role as an instructor and then subsequently as a course director.

What are some issues that are affecting your local dive site or favorite underwater areas?

The main pollution issues we have are plastics; straws, bags and bottles. These items are a problem everywhere but in tourist destinations we don’t have the facilities to deal with the waste we’re creating.

At Sairee Cottage Diving we decided to say No to Plastic Straws. At first our customers were confused. But when we take time and explain the problem, everyone is supportive. For the most part they didn’t even realize that straws can cause so many problems and can’t be reused.

We’ve also embraced an initiative called Trash Hero where we sell stainless steel water bottles and provide customers with free drinking water through dedicated refill stations across island.

What Project AWARE programs have you participated in? Tell us about your work.

Our dive center is involved with the Dive Against Debris surveys, we’ve adopted our local dive site. We teach the AWARE Shark Conservation and Dive Against Debris Distinctive Specialty courses. Plus we are a 100% AWARE Partner and integrate ocean protection talks in all of our diving courses.

What has been the highlight of your Project AWARE experience?

As a Project AWARE environmental activist on Koh Tao I was part of a team that collected thousands of shark signatures to get three species of hammerheads, oceanic whitetip and porbeague shark listed on Appendix II at CITESCoP16. Being involved in this direct action, and encouraging an entire dive community to get involved, was huge! It was a massive win and real evidence that by working together we can create long lasting impact.

Now I use my energy to try and encourage people to rethink, reduce and reuse. As a dive professional I can help inspire others to make a change.

What is the most important thing you tell others about Project AWARE?

Everyone can clean a beach… cleaning is a great effort and should never stop. But, if you really want to make a change, then we need to tackle the problem. To do this you need manpower, funds and a lot of effort, marketing and inspiration. Project AWARE always gives me the tools to inspire people. I am very proud to be part of the Project AWARE global movement. I hope together we will inspire many others to take care of this fragile planet.