Haliotis Dive Center operates in several Portuguese coastal regions and is a recognised training centre for recreational and professional diving. Sustainability related objective is to train divers with strong environmental responsibility and awareness of marine conservation.
Environmental protection principles are integrated into diving courses, including responsible interaction with marine life and minimisation of underwater impact. The sustainability dimension has a focus on marine ecosystem protection, responsible tourism and long-term conservation of dive sites.
Key learning objectives:
As main learning outcomes it may be mentioned that divers acquire technical skills alongside conservation ethics and biodiversity awareness and as impact the reduced ecological disturbance and increased environmental stewardship developed among divers.
Importance of water sport:
Scuba diving, as practiced by Haliotis, directly supports the objectives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) by placing learners in direct contact with marine ecosystems, transforming abstract sustainability concepts into lived experience. Through diving, participants observe biodiversity, habitat fragility, and human impacts (e.g. pollution, overuse, climate stress) first‑hand. This experiential learning approach strengthens environmental awareness, systems thinking, and responsible behaviour, which are core ESD principles.
Haliotis integrates sustainability into its training programmes by embedding marine conservation ethics, responsible diving practices, and ecosystem protection guidelines into technical instruction. As a result, learning goes beyond sport performance, fostering long‑term environmental responsibility and active citizenship in relation to ocean protection
Target Groups/Clients:
Divers, tourists, learning diving instructors.
Good practices:
This project demonstrates good practice by integrating environmental education directly into water‑sport training, using scuba diving as a powerful experiential learning tool. A key strength is the combination of technical skill development with sustainability values, where responsible behaviour, ecosystem protection and safety are treated as inseparable elements of practice. The project shows how water sports can function as non‑formal learning environments, fostering ocean literacy, systems thinking and long‑term behavioural change.
An important transferable practice is the embedding of conservation ethics within sport certification and training pathways, ensuring that sustainability is not an optional add‑on but a core competence.
Event Website/Social Media:
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