Marine Conservation Expedition in Timor-Leste

Are you passionate about marine conservation? Are you an avid Scuba diver and want to use your diving skills in a meaningful way? Have you always wanted to travel to a remote country rich in history and culture, which is located at the heart of the Coral Triangle, home to the highest diversity of marine life on planet earth? Then this project could be the one for you!

Your role as a marine conservation volunteer
After a couple of weeks of dive and science training, provided by scientists and experts in the field of marine biology, conservation and Scuba diving, volunteers support marine data collection on the rarely researched reefs around the expedition base. Data collected helps the organisation, partner NGOs and conservation organisations to understand the nature and current state of the reef and seagrass beds, which provides the base for future conservation efforts. Activities can include:
- Scuba diving training up to Divemaster level
- Marine science and conservation training provided by field scientists
- Research diving (1-2 times a day, five days a week)
- Marine data collection on seagrass beds for dugong conservation and other marine habitats
- Marine conservation outreach activities at local markets and other community events
- Language exchange sessions with local staff members to build their capacity in the English language and volunteer’s understanding of Tetun
- Assisting English lessons in local schools
- Whale watching and monitoring (during whale season between September and December)

Project goals and how you contribute
Timor-Leste lies in the Indo-Pacific and is part of the worldly renowned Coral Triangle. This highly biodiverse ecosystem is not only beautiful but provides millions of people with food, medicine, protection from storms, and revenue from fishing and tourism and hence conserving it has become a priority. The current state of the reef and surrounding seagrass habitats need to be understood in order to enable conservation organisations, local governments and local communities to create effective marine management plans which in turn help reduce the pressures of globalisation, climate change and overfishing. Volunteers provide additional manpower to help collect data and also provide alternative sources of funding to conservation and local communities as they foster tourism in an area where tourism is otherwise scarce.