Diving and Marine Conservation Internship in Belize

Get ready to kickstart an exciting new career in professional diving and tropical marine conservation. Take a trip to the second-largest reef system in the world, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. You’ll be working to research and preserve one of its most valuable sections, the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Belize is a leader in conservation policies and has banned certain harmful commercial fishing practices and even oil drilling off the coast. The result is that the clear, warm Caribbean waters flourish with parrotfish, eagle rays, sea turtles and a vibrant array of corals including the eye-catching elkhorn coral. Manatees and whale sharks also frequent these waters. 

Unsurprisingly, ecotourism is an important part of the country’s economy. However, the authorities are also aware that they need to manage it effectively so that it doesn’t negatively impact the environment. You’ll learn all about how this is done and it’s challenges on this internship. 

You’ll also learn how authorities manage other threats, such as the coral bleaching resulting from climate change, invasive species such as the lionfish and the pollution caused by nearby farms.

Your internship will get started before you even set foot in Belize. While you’re still at home, you’ll be sent our pre-program training. Be sure to complete this training before you arrive, otherwise you’ll be spending your first few weeks in Belize in front of a computer screen or with your nose in a book. We’d much rather get you started on the hands-on, practical training as soon as you land on base. That way you’ll soon be on the reef and carrying out surveys. 

Keep in mind that we aim to dive as much as humanly possible, weather conditions change rapidly in the Caribbean, which means that sometimes dives can get cancelled at the last minute. You’ll soon learn, however, that many of the projects that make the biggest impact on marine conservation goals take place on land, and you’ll be supporting these initiatives when not on a dive.

Highlights

• Earn PADI professional diving certifications. 
• Gain real-world experience carrying out underwater marine conservation surveys of Caribbean coral reef habitats. 
• Assist with the research and protection of the second-largest coral reef in the world. 
• Find out how local and international organisations are working together to protect coral reefs from numerous environmental threats.
• In your free time, go for a recreational dive and experience the unique formation of Belize’s Great Blue Hole for yourself.

Alongside your practical on-the-ground work experience, an internship, fellowship or apprenticeship with us comes with curated one-on-one career mentorship and support, including a free GVI online course and exclusive access to a range of job opportunities.

All of our programs have short-, mid- and long-term objectives that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualise their contribution to the UN SDGs.

Prior to your arrival on base, you will be educated about the UN SDGs. Then once you arrive on base, you’ll learn about the specific goals we have in this particular location, our various objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these.

Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to be an active global citizen after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.

Our work on the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize focuses on conserving the second-largest barrier reef in the world, the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (BBRRS), a recognised World Heritage Site. The reef is home to an abundance of coral species and many other endangered marine species, such as the green sea turtle and West Indian manatee.

The reef, like many others around the world, faces many conservation challenges. As a result of the climate crisis, rising ocean temperatures cause corals to become damaged in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. Another challenge the reef shares with other marine habitats around the world is plastic pollution. Invasive species, such as lionfish, and pollution from coastal development, also pose a threat. While tourism is an excellent contributor to the reef’s conservation, it needs to be managed effectively to ensure no harm is caused. Mangroves are also a key factor in protecting the reef. Among other challenges, they are under threat from unsustainable coastal development practices.

Fortunately, Belize is a leader in effective conservation practices and has implemented several innovative policies and initiatives over the years, including banning bottom trawling, a form of harmful commercial fishing, as well as offshore oil prospecting and drilling. Our work in Belize involves supporting the country’s governmental and local initiatives.

Our team carries out scientific surveys of the fish, coral and invertebrate species found at dive sites along the BBRRS. We then deliver this data to local organisations aiming at making a positive impact on the conservation management of BBRRS and its surrounding reefs.

The main UN Sustainable Development Goal that we contribute towards is Goal 14: Life Below Water.

Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.

 

We want to constantly develop our own understanding of ethical best practice. In so doing, we aim to provide an exemplary industry standard for other education institutions, international development organisations, and social enterprises. Our Badge of Ethics stands for the drive to always do good, better. Find out more, click on the Badge below.

‘If only every student could do this. It changes your life in all the right ways,’ says Chris Heritage, parent of Luke Heritage, one of our teen volunteers who has participated on two GVI programs, one in Costa Rica and another in South Africa.

We are a parent-run organisation that is incredibly serious about health and safety, and increasing the impact, as well as the long-term career benefits of our programs. Our programs help young people develop the skills to select a career path that is personally fulfilling, and live a life aligned to the well-being of our planet and the global community.

Ken and Linda Jeffrey, whose son Sam volunteered with GVI in Thailand, talk about how the experience affected Sam. He also went on to volunteer with GVI again in South Africa. ‘I know it sounds like a cliche but in a sense, he did go away as a boy and he came back as a young man. Both of us could recommend GVI without any hesitation to any other parent thinking about exploring an opportunity for their children to explore the world and to see different parts of it.’