Reef Buddy Philippines is a marine conservation programme based in Dauin, Negros Oriental, one of the world's premier reef and muck diving destinations and the heart of the Coral Triangle.
Volunteers join our active Reef Check survey team, running the same globally standardised protocol used in peer-reviewed reef research worldwide. Survey data is submitted directly to the Reef Check Foundation database, where it is used by marine park managers, national governments and UN agencies to track reef health over time.
Our four research workstreams:
Reef Monitoring: Fish, invertebrate and substrate surveys following Reef Check methodology, plus 3D photogrammetric reef mapping to track changes over time.
Coral Nursery Restoration: Fragment collection, nursery maintenance and coral transplanting to degraded reef areas directly outside Sierra Resort.
BRUVS Apex Predator Monitoring: Baited remote underwater video system deployments to monitor sharks and rays in Dauin waters.
Invasive Species Management: Crown-of-Thorns starfish monitoring and removal using Caribbean-proven methodology.
The programme runs year-round with a 2-week minimum stay. Volunteers new to diving complete PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water training in week one before joining project work. Experienced divers can join survey dives from day one.
Reef Buddy Philippines is the Southeast Asian sister operation of Caribbean Reef Buddy, established in Carriacou, Grenada in 2014. Across both sites we have worked with 300 volunteers from 28 nationalities
