| The Phi Phi Dive Camp was set up by Andrew Hewett on the 18th February 2005 as a response to handle the debris caused by the December 26th 2004 tsunami. The Adventure Club was used as the base for the Phi Phi dive Camp where volunteers would converge daily to be assigned their cleanup duties for the day. Although the primary goal was to clean up debris underwater, the PPDC also organised the volunteers into beach clean up crews and during the 10 months of clean up operations the volunteers cleaned every beach within the Phi Phi Island group of 6 islands. Underwater clean up crews worked 6 days per week for 6 months performing dives in the worst possible conditions, with sometimes only 1 meter visibility and having to meticulously pick through a maze of debris with a high risk of entanglement in electrical cables and piping. The true amount of debris removed during the clean up operation will never been known,however well in access of 300 tons of rubbish was estimated at one point. Over 4000 volunteers participated in the project with many staying for months to assist. Without the support and help of these volunteers, Phi Phi Island would never have returned to the condition that it is now. Many thanks to all the people that selflessly offered their support and help during the operation. Although the clean up work of the PPDC has long been finished and the PPDC is now disbanded, work still continues to this day in the form of the artificial reef and coral nursery projects which are run by Andrew Hewett and the Adventure Club in alliance with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) and the Phuket Marine Biology Centre (PMBC). The aim is to continue the effort that was started by so many people, in the hope that we can bring to light the issues affecting the world’s oceans and the role that coral reefs play in providing energy and resources to all forms of life, including ours, MAN. |
Phi Phi Dive Camp
