Marine Conservation Philippines

Marine Conservation Philippines is a non-profit based in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Situated in the centre of the coral triangle the Philippines consists of 7000 islands and has a unique topography with a stretch of shoreline, longer than any other nation in the World, and with a longer stretch of coral reefs to match. This very much puts the Philippines at the frontline of the fight for preservation of fragile marine habitats.

We dare to dream of a future and of a sea where our kids and their kids can still marvel at grazing sea-turtles and sharks and where coastal communities enjoy adequate fish-stocks for the next generations. We invite you to dream that dream with us.

Marine Conservation Philippines work to help save fragile marine habitats like coral reefs and mangrove forests and improve quality of life for marginalized fisherfolk in the central Philippines. The organisation is a volunteer based organisation where international volunteers join a large professional team of marine biologists, scientists, educators and scuba instructors, and help tackle the multitude of problems and issues facing the Oceans today. Participation in the program involves extensive scuba diving activities, but volunteers need not be qualified scuba divers prior to starting - they can learn as part of the program.

In a market awash with questionable volunteer programs made by for-profit companies, this program is the real deal. . MCP is a registered non-profit working under the auspices of the local government, and in collaboration with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Department of Natural Resources and a number of 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 management of coastal resources. The staff to volunteer ratio is 1:1 or better and the work of the volunteers makes an actual difference!

As a volunteer-based organisation, we depend on volunteers both to keep operational and to conduct the work at land and at sea. Some volunteers have a background in biology and many are already scuba divers. Neither is required however, and non-divers can learn scuba diving with our instructors before starting the in-water work. What we do require from everyone, besides obviously the desire to help preserve some critically endangered environments, is the understanding that you do so at the expense of some creature comforts. Volunteering with us is no resort stay or a five star holiday. Volunteering is for people who like getting their hands dirty – no-one is here to make other peoples beds or clean their rooms, there’s very long days in the water, and it might be your turn to lend a hand in the kitchen, clean the dive shed or water plants in the mangrove nursery. We all bunk in together, and it really is a bit like camping out. Camp fires and story telling included.

Our operational area currently spans about 100 kilometers of coastline on the island of Negros Oriental, some of it encompassing some incredible dive sites such as the reefs of Dauin, and right across from our base lies world famous and stunning Apo Island, which has been a marine protected area since the eighties.

Besides the work actually making a difference, volunteering with MCP also ticks the 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 petting a goat, and naming the gecko in the room. It’s seeing rare and endangered wildlife. It’s discovery, adventure and camaraderie. it’s getting sparkling white smiles from locals kids and toothless grins from their grandmothers. It’s all of this and more.