Green Bubbles RISE for sustainable diving

EU-funded researchers are working with citizen scientists and the sports diving industry to make the sector more environmentally friendly.

Recreational scuba diving is a mass leisure activity enjoyed by millions of people around the world, generating money for coastal communities and marine protected areas (MPAs). Other benefits linked to diving include the promotion of ocean stewardship, contributions to scientific research, fostering social inclusion and personal development.

The sport also produces negative impacts due to damage or disturbance of marine habitats and organisms, and conflicts with local communities for the access to and use of the same resources, equity issues, or cultural clashes. These aspects clearly relate to the three pillars of sustainability, which cover environmental, economic and social dimensions, and can only be addressed by a systemic approach.

The EU-funded GreenBubbles project aimed to make the sector’s activities more sustainable by preserving natural and cultural heritage of the coastal and marine environment, alongside significant socio-economical and environmental benefits while increasing safe practices.

Understanding impacts

This initiative is the first to tackle scuba diving in a holistic way. “We intend to spread sustainability across the sector, which consists of multiple actors, including divers, dive operators, diving professionals, certifying agencies, territorial authorities, local communities, and scientists,” says project coordinator Dr Carlo Cerrano.

A thorough baseline assessment is essential to understanding the different aspects of the diving industry and its impacts. Researchers focused on two destinations representing important yet understudied examples of non-tropical diving systems: the Portofino MPA in the Mediterranean Sea (temperate waters) and the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve (PPMR) in the Indian Ocean (subtropical waters).

Project partners investigated how sports divers and local communities behave and the choices they make. “At the same time, we also described the underwater habitats visited by divers, studying their biodiversity and mapping the seascape with extreme precision," comments Marco Palma, one of the researchers involved in the mapping exercise.

During the project consortium members also developed several initiatives to enhance the safety aspects of the diving activities, such as the Diving Safety officer training, the Safety labelling system and an Internship programme for university students.

Importance of citizen science

Knowledge generated was used to develop new or improved services, devices, and tools, which targeted areas for the sustainable expansion of the diving sector. Ocean literacy and citizen science were identified as two main areas and a set of tools created to link these with scuba diving, including a modular teaching manual stemming from school curricula and official diving training programmes, a suite of university-level courses, and ‘train-the-trainers’ activities.

The team used citizen science to collect data and investigate the perception and engagement of divers and dive professionals, and improve understanding of the risks involved in the sport. They also developed devices for improving diver safety, including a breathing monitoring apparatus and an improved model to support diabetic divers.

In addition, project partners drew up guidelines and conducted workshops with operators to promote 'green diving', and tailor business and marketing approaches.

GreenBubbles will contribute to a better understanding of sustainability and its development within the scuba diving industry, with direct implications for the management of diving activities, especially in protected areas. “Lessons learnt can be also used as a model for other marine-based recreational systems,” Dr Cerrano points out.

Reference source: Green Bubbles RISE for sustainable diving