Eco Tour Companies

Operation Wallacea Ltd
Address	Hope House, Old Bolingbroke, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, PE23 4EX
Telephone no.	+44 (0) 1790 763194
Fax no.	+44 (0) 1790 763825
E-mail address	info@opwall.com
Web site	www.opwall.com
Contact	Pippa
Activities	Those volunteers joining the Operation Wallacea teams in South East Sulawesi, Indonesia will be involved in monitoring the biological, fisheries, and other economic benefits and social changes resulting from the establishment of the Wakatobi Marine National Park and its subsequent management. The Park was established after successful lobbying by Operation Wallacea. The Hoga Marine Research Centre, which is the largest of three Research Centres in the Wakatobi Marine National Park has a fully equipped dive centre where all dive projects are run from. Projects include: Dive Training; Coral Reef Ecology Courses; Marine Mammals and ReefCheck (on a live-aboard vessel); Biodiversity Monitoring of Reefs; Coral Growth Recovery and Recruitment; Marine Invertebrates and Fish Habitat Selection, Community, Structure and Behaviour. Those volunteers joining the Operation Wallacea teams in Honduras, will be working on Cayos Cochinos which are a group of two small islands (Cayo Menor and Cayo Grande) and 13 small coral cays lying 19 miles north-east of La Ceiba on the northern Honduran coast. Projects will be based at the Marine Research Centre on Cayo Menor, with access strictly restricted for scientific purposes. This has a fully equipped Dive Centre with projects including: Dive Training; Caribbean Reef Ecology Courses; Coral, Invertebrate & Fish monitoring; Population Monitoring of Turtles; and Quantification & Minimisation of Diver Damage and Cleaner Fish.
Purpose	Operation Wallacea is a series of biological and social science expedition projects designed to underpin the achievements of specific wildlife conservation aims. The expeditions have been running for the last 8 years in a remote corner of South East Sulawesi in Indonesia, and in 2003 also started projects in Honduras.
What do customers do	Dive Training to PADI Open Water Level, which is included in the cost of the expedition, is conducted from the shore and later moving out to a number of dive platforms that have been set up where training is then carried out from local boats. There are around six main dive sites with an additional number in excess of twenty, which are used throughout the season for a variety of Projects. Beyond training to PADI Open Water, there are many other dive courses available at an extra cost, including a variety of Adventure Dives, Advanced PADI Open Water, Emergency First Response, Rescue Diver, Dive Master and Assistant Instructor. All Coral Reef Ecology Courses, Reef Surveying Techniques and Fish Identification Training are included in the cost of the expedition with training provided by academics from a variety of UK and overseas Universities. Operation Wallacea offers the unique opportunity for you to enjoy an idyllic location with some of the best dive sites in the world alongside academic studies resulting in a greater understanding of the Marine Environment. This has led to a significant number of academic papers being written each year by scientific staff from the UK and Overseas Universities and a number of students completing degree dissertations achieving First Class Honours.
What sort of people	Enthusiasm and a positive attitude towards the environment are the only requirements, with volunteers of any age being warmly welcomed, with past volunteers ranging from 18 to 75 years old. A number of our volunteers have had no previous dive experience, but go on to become keen and experienced divers, whilst part of Operation Wallacea.
Cost:	Expedition Costs include: Dive training to PADI Open Water level; relevant scientific training courses; food; accommodation; internal transport; and access relevant on site academics, local translators, guides and porters. Competitive prices for 2, 4, 6 or 8 week expeditions.
Where do you operate	We operate in a remote corner of South East Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the recently established Wakatobi Marine National Park. We also operate in Honduras, on Cayos Cochinos which are a group of two small islands (Cayo Menor and Cayo Grande) and 13 small coral cays lying 19 miles north-east of La Ceiba on the northern Honduran coast.
Other information	Operation Wallacea offers an idyllic location for you to spend your summer enjoying some of the best dive sites in the world along with assisting scientific research carried out by academics and dissertation students from both UK and Overseas Universities. We also offer the unique opportunity for you to visit the local Bajo (sea gypsy) Community and neighbouring Islands.
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Last up-dated	8.09.03