Artificial Reefs - A "Pro Development" Environmentalist?

Endless artificial reef design possibilities exist

When asked to describe myself and our company invariably we say we're, "Pro Development Environmentalists."

As you can imagine that term raises eyebrows on both sides of the great development and environmental divides. But, stick with me here, because there's a method to this madness and in the end it works for everyone - yes everyone.

Back in 2005 our little team of tourism experts, film and TV designers, and marine biologists looked at the state of the oceans and discovered an alarming trend. Coral reefs were vanishing.
By 2008 estimates assembled from coral reef specialists from around the world indicated that 19% of the existing area of coral reefs has already been lost. Today, only 46% of the world’s reefs can be currently regarded as in good health.

The threat to the health of reefs is particularly strong in Southeast Asia where 80% of reefs are endangered, blown apart with dynamite, poisoned with cyanide, and drowned under development runoff from the land.

We looked at reef loss from the resort tourism side, what we discovered after a year of travel to some of the worlds top 5 Star waterfront resorts was, in a word, shocking.(Pay close attention big chain resorts, this next bit is aimed squarely at you and your global waterfront resort footprint.)

We found most 5 star resorts had 2 star waterfronts, places with broken bottles, old tires, dead coral and few fish eking out an existence just off pristine white sand beaches and $800 a night rooms.
Thus was born a company, Reef Worlds, that sought to stem the tide of reef destruction by leveraging resort developers to create 'Habitat Tourism' spaces off their resort waterfronts.

Sounds crazy? Not really.

These spaces are created first and foremost as mini marine protected areas, or what we call Dynamic Reefs - but here's the catch, they are designed for regional tourism, they are paid for by tourism dollars, and the media loves them.

Artificial reefs are boring. There, I said it, and the world didn't end.

They really are, who wants to snorkel or dive on a chunk of concrete shaped like a triangle? Certainly no one who's paying $800 a night for a resort room. But, redesigned to look like a 'lost city' or an 'art garden' or 'cultural artifact site,' and now you have new resort revenue streams, experiential client engagement, green media, and best of all - habitat. Acres and acres of new wildlife habitat.

And it works, take a look at this amazing site in Mexcio.

So, when we say we're "Pro Development Environmentalists," take heart. We see pressing problems and find unique ways to create tourism and habitat spaces where none previously existed for the benefit of everyone. Including those with credits cards and those with full time fins.

Artificial reefs work, they are the cornerstone to habitat stop loss across the USA, Europe, and Asia, what's missing is the realization that resort developers have a much wider responsibility to the spaces beyond the high tide mark.

Spaces that they could be seeing new revenue, media, and client engagement with tomorrow - because the day after tomorrow might be just one day too late for the