Inspiring New Champions for Our Seas

Off the coast of West Papua, Indonesia, the waters off the Bird’s Head peninsula teem with 1,765 different species of fish and 600 variations of hard coral—more species than anywhere else in the world, all within a magical bay pierced by giant boulder islands.

But that wasn’t always the case. Years of “blast fishing” and other illegal practices nearly decimated Bird’s Head. Community members worked alongside the government and NGOs to protect this “cauldron of evolution,” and, today, Bird’s Head’s 12 marine protected areas encompass an area of coastal and marine habitats about the size of Great Britain.

I was introduced to this special place by a Conservation International film – which The Tiffany & Co. Foundation helped produce – that uses virtual reality technology to transport viewers to the waters of the Bird’s Head to experience, first hand, this wonder of nature.  The film “Valen’s Reef” will debut on June 20 at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

At the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, we invest in many ocean conservation and awareness-raising programs and I have seen several different approaches to this work over the years, but I believe one of the most effective ways to secure global champions for our oceans is to partner with the travel and tourism industry.

Last year, the tourism sector generated $7.2 trillion, contributing nearly 10 percent to global GDP. With 80 percent of all tourism located in coastal areas, this presents a powerful opportunity to empower travelers, the tourism industry, and local communities to conserve coastal and marine areas [continued...]

Read the full article at Huffington Post, where this piece originally appeared.