Marine Conservation Philippines is a non-profit NGO working to preserve fragile marine habitats like coral reefs and mangrove forests and improve quality of life for marginalised fisherfolk in the Philippines. MCP is where international volunteers can join a large professional team of marine biologists, scientists, teachers and dive instructors, and help tackle the myriad problems and issues facing the Oceans today. Participation in the program involves extensive scuba diving activities. Participants need not be qualified divers prior to starting – they can learn as part of the program.
In a travel market full of volunteer opportunities provided by for-profit companies, this program is the real McCoy. MCP is a locally registered non-profit working under the auspices of the local government, and in collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources and a number of local and European universities. Besides volunteer fees, MCP is financially supported by the Rufford Foundation and other international trusts and charities and provides consultancy and aid to the local municipalities in coastal resource management. The staff to volunteer ratio is 1:1 and the work of the volunteers makes an actual difference!
In 3 years volunteers have planted thousands of mangrove trees, removed tons of plastic and other marine debris from coral reefs and beaches, conducted more than thousand scientific survey dives, contributed to the publication of several scientific articles (more pending), helped educate thousands of school children and have enabled MCP to make a real difference in coastal protection.
Besides the work actually making a difference, volunteering with MCP also ticks all the happy boxes! It is bonfires and marshmallows, it’s diving with sea turtles, it’s meeting new friends from all over the world, it’s learning stuff about reef biology that will blow your mind. it’s learning how to dive, it’s meeting the locals, It’s It’s seeing rare and endangered wildlife.
The shortest possible duration to volunteer, even for experienced divers, is six weeks.
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