Leveraging Enterprise Partnerships for Coral Reef Conservation Outcomes

Abstract

As the health of coral reefs continues to decline worldwide, scientists must begin to broaden their engagement with stakeholders in marine conservation and restoration. Tropical beach destinations, such as Phuket, Thailand, depend on public perception of healthy coral reef ecosystems to continue to attract international tourists, whose visits constitute a significant proportion of the country's GDP. A large proportion of high disposable income visitors patronize corporate hotels, lured by the promise of exclusivity and highly aesthetic surrounds, and thus these businesses have a vested interest in protecting the marine resources surrounding their properties. By fostering mutually beneficial partnerships between NGOs, government agencies, and private enterprises, the agencies charged with protecting marine resources increase their potential scope for conservation activities. Highlighting conservation partnerships with local groups will also serve to increase the resorts' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) profile, a factor that is increasingly considered by travelers in trip planning. Reef rehabilitation is historically perceived as an expensive and highly technical endeavor, however this approach aims to scale-up low-cost models that have previously been proven effective on the community eco-tourism scale. Here, we analyze the strengths and weaknesses of traditional systems and highlight the effectiveness of de facto enterprise co-management in reducing fishing pressure, pollution and physical damage to corals. The goal is development of a standard model for corporate hotel house reef conservation engagement that, once proven in implementation, can be easily exported to similar localities whose tourism is heavily dependent on marine ecosystem goods and services.