Between January and Aprill 1999,
Leonardo DiCaprio was in Thailand filming his latest movie, The
Beach. The
film was shot on
location in Phuket and Phi Phi Le island in southern Thailand.
While he was there he met Robert
Cogen and Anne
Miller, the national co-ordinators of Reef Check. Reef Check
is a non-profit, global project created by Dr. Gregor Hodgson
in Hong Kong and endorsed by the United Nations. It is a project
that checks the health of the world's coral reefs mainly using
volunteers. This raises public awareness abo
ut the value of coral reefs and
gives solutions to these problems. Robert and Anne are volunteers
for Reef Check in Thailand, helping to coordinate surveys around
Thailand. Robert is owner-operator of In Depth Adventures, a
small eco-tour company, and he writes a regular environment column
in 'The Phuket Gazette'.
After visiting the island of Phi Phi Le during filming of 'The Beach', Robert and Anne wrote an article called 'Facts and Fancy' based on personal observations of what they saw that day. Robert had visited the island many times in the past and after further investigation he was able to conclude that "no coral appeared to have been damaged in any way." He also commented that the beach and water looked far healthier than he had seen in many years.
Leonardo DiCaprio (see picture) became interested in the work of Reef Check and its training arm, Reef-World which is run by Anne Miller. He also joined in with one of their training courses. Anne told us that Leonardo was "very sincere, asked some excellent questions which showed a clear understanding of the issues. We spent much time discussing ways in which communities can actively become involved in helping to protect their local resources."
Reef-World is an educational model that has been designed
to introduce the concepts of eco-tourism in a wa
y that can be
easily incorporated by existing marine tour companies. It is
a new program that is being piloted in Thailand with the support
of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Reef-World is set
around coral reefs, the major tourist attraction of tropical
coasts. The beauty of coral reefs brings scuba divers and snorkellers;
they help to create the surrounding beaches, they protect those
beaches; provide food for both residents and visitors, and wealth
for the surrounding communities and country. Reef-World introduces
visitors to the variety of life on a coral reef on fun courses
that can be enjoyed on a tour from either a land-based resort
or from a boat, either over a half-day or several days. At the
same time, courses provide information about local community
initiatives to protect local reefs. Courses are progressive,
so that those who already have some knowledge can learn more.
As knowledge increases, visitors are invited to join in with
Reef Check. If successful, the Reef-W
orld
program will ensure Reef Check surveys are carried out regularly
as part of the daily activities of dive companies. Early indications
are positive.
Reef-World has a charitable arm called The Reef-World Foundation. The Foundation supplies funding and technical support to locally-led educational programs that empower people to take care of coral reefs and related marine ecosystems (such as mangroves and sea grass beds which act as 'nurseries' to a lot of the reef fish and animals.) Funds are generated either by donation, or by sales of Reef-World training courses to visitors.
In the early tests taking place in Thailand, The Reef-World Foundation is supporting local educators in a number of applications. In one instance, funds were supplied to a school initiative in Koh Tao Island (see picture) in the Gulf of Siam. In July 1999, 33 schoolchildren, accompanied by their headmaster, Khun Permpoon Lomeprakone and 8 volunteers, were escorted to observe the colours, shapes and wildlife of a healthy coral reef. Then, they were able to compare their notes to a section of damaged reef. Finally, members of the Royal Forest Department of Thailand came with a mooring buoy to teach about their own mooring buoy project (deploying 50 around the small island with funding from the TAT) and how the use of buoys protects the environment by preventing anchor damage. The children learned that they are the future, the ones who will have to look after the reef.
Further information on the internet:
- Reef-World Foundation: The Reef-World Foundation provides educators in tropical coastal communities, with the skills and tools necessary so that they can teach about the protection and sustainable development of tropical marine resources.
- Reef Check: The first global coral reef monitoring project, now established in 40 countries around the world. Reef Check has been an unmitigated success in encouraging local community volunteers to get involved with data collection on their own coral reefs. Reef Check is the community-based arm of the United Nations’ Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
- In Depth Adventures: A small company specializing in ecotourism and education. In Depth Adventures take people SCUBA diving, snorkeling, exploring islands in Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), and trekking in Thailand, including riding elephants and bamboo rafting. There is a heavy emphasis on eco-education. Each adventure is accompanied by a naturalist who identifies and describes the wildlife and tribal cultures of the villages visited.
- Facts and Fancy: Robert and Anne's report on the allegations of damage to the coral by 20th Century Fox.
- Leonardo DiCaprio: "The environment, and environmental issues, are the first and foremost charitable concerns I have focused on, and I consider myself an environmentalist," said Leonardo while he was in Thailand. Read more about it on his official web site.
E-mail contacts:
- Anne Miller - ecoanne@loxinfo.co.th
- In Depth Adventures - indepth@loxinfo.co.th
Pictures and graphic images on this page have been reproduced here with permission from Anne Miller of Reef Check/Reef World.
