A New Method for Citizen Science to Monitor Coral Reefs in Thai Waters

Abstract

Tourism is becoming more important economic in many countries, yet its continued expansion has led to concerns over environmental impacts. Tourist activities can cause a direct impact on the marine environment. The aim of this study was to develop the new coral reef monitoring method for citizen science in Thailand to assess coral reef conditions on a large scale, which supports coral reef management. The coral reef monitoring consists of 20 representative photos from each reef site, with each photo taken from top view of the coral reef from a 2-meter distance. All photos should not be taken overlapping. The coral reef fish monitoring consists of 3 minutes video which should be recorded from above of coral reef at 60° to the coral reef. The proposed method was conducted in both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, i.e., Rayong Province, Chumphon Province, Phuket Province, and Phang Nga Province for its validation. This study emphasizes that citizen science has an important and effective educational value. Tourism and diving stakeholders should increase their commitment and efforts to the monitoring programs.