MONDO CONSERVATION UNDERWATER PROGRAMME 

What is involved in the Mondo Conservation Underwater Program - MCUP?

MCUP is a fun course for all divers, and all the diving family. If you don’t have a diving certificate, and you have time, we can get you ready and certified with a Open Water course. This will provide you with plenty of safety and awareness advice prior to doing this course. Our course objectives are to share the beauty of our underwater waters of Sumbawa and how to keep it safe for you and other life forms. You will gain and understanding what the reef ecosystem needs are in order to survive and thrive.

What we do in research?

• Researching specific areas of coral reefs, monitoring and documenting change in our underwater ecosystem
• Methods and approach to monitoring these reefs
• Taking and recording research and measurements using standard marine research protocols
• Understanding and checking the state of marine biodiversity

What do we want to record – what is important?

• Reef health, marine and coral abundance, local biodiversity, parasites (the bad guys), food abundance; different depths of life and growth habits.
• In simple terms and words we want to understand the following:
• Is the reef healthy and flourishing, is it growing or struggling?
• What can we do to improve its health or encourage its growth?
• How can we stop damage form erosion, prey (such as crown of thorns)
• Is there an increase in fish habitat and different species? 
• Are there new juveniles hiding amongst the new and old corals and rocks?

Minimum requirement: 

Open Water Diver, BSAC or SSI diver equivalent. Must have a clean bill of health (waiver forms)

We will be looking to take you on a short fun dive to show us you can control your buoyancy - (we run Specialty courses for peak performance buoyancy) before proceeding to go to dive our research locations.

We would like to see other skills such as hovering, fin pivoting, aligned flat swim - fin positioning of body, control over coral tops and beds, and no fluttering over sand based areas (not kicking up substrate), and a static floating position mid water controlling your buoyancy using your lungs and BCD. It is all fun and good practice too!

This course takes one day, but you can do more dives and days.