Cooperative Spring and Cave Conservation Project
Sponsored by The Cave Diving Forum

Project Background

It is a collaborative project, which aims to unite all diving organizations and agencies in their efforts to protect cavern and cave diving sites.

The goal of this project is to take all systems and treat them like an "adopt a cave" program. Spend time and effort working with the owners, rangers and park authorities to improve available facilities and generally make each location noticeably better. More importantly, make the improvements DEMONSTRATABLY better. Document and even photograph the efforts and their results. Make it PROVABLE to the concerned authorities that cave divers are a benefit to these systems.

Project Framework

The CDF will maintain an electronic folder for each site. This will allow any diver and/or organization to submit a simple standard form recording their conservation activities. The form will include location where the dive took place, time, date, and an account of actions the divers took to improve/maintain the site. Actions could range from a major organized cleanup all the way down to taking out a couple cans or bottles in the basin.

Benefits

1. Many divers will go out of their way to find something to do and report since it would then become a permanent entry in such a system. Suddenly the simple act of reaching down and picking up a plastic bag or cigarette butt becomes a RECORDED, DOCUMENTED CASE OF CAVE DIVERS PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT.

2. The electronic folder becomes an official documentation of positive impact cave divers have on the systems. Any one of the participation organizations and agencies will have access to this documentation and can use it to further the cause of preserving cave diving sites.

3. This project can foster cooperation and teamwork within the cave diving community.

Endorsing Organizations

Project Manager
Alan Garrett - Conservation@Cavediver.net 

Website
http://www.dayo.net/conservation/conservationmain.htm

 

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