Community is the heart of any conservation project – An interview with Marine Biologist Emma Bell

BY MARGAUX MONFARED

The Maldives was once an enchanting underwater paradise, with crystal clear waters that erupt with colour and life.  Yet, up to 90 % of its coral has been devastated by severe coral bleaching events in recent years. Emma Bell a Marine Biologist in South Male Atoll hopes to use her voice to inspire local communities to make positive environmental changes as well as influence conservation movements worldwide.

Hey! Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hello! I am Emma a Marine Biologist working in South Male Atoll, Republic of Maldives. I have been working as a Marine Biologist over the last 7 years in countries such as Greece, Seychelles, Maldives and England. In addition, I have an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology and a postgraduate degree in Coastal and Marine Resource Management from the University of Portsmouth. I learnt to dive at the age of 14 in Montenegro and then went on to do my Advanced Open Water Course in the Maldives, my Rescue Diver in England and eventually my Divemaster in Maldives. Having the ability to dive has led to some amazing experiences. 

A picture of Emma diving in Fuvahmulah, a popular location where you can dive with tiger sharks and thresher sharks.

You’ve built your life around the ocean. What drew you to it in the first place?

I remember my first holiday where the water was warm enough to support tropical marine life. I was following this bright red fish for what felt like hours….enough time at least for my mum to call the lifeguards to search for me! I was so distracted that I didn’t realise how long I had been out in the water. Since that moment I have been mesmerised by the ocean. 

Describe the path you took to where you are now..

At college I decided to study Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry and Physics. I felt like something was missing, however, later realising it was learning about the ocean. This drove me to study Marine Biology at the University of Portsmouth. In my first year I studied Marine Biology, Biochemistry and Biology. During the summer I was lucky enough to get an internship in Maldives working at the Four Seasons resort. I was invited back to do a second internship over Christmas. During my second year I applied for the Erasmus scheme and went to collect my dissertation data in Crete, Greece. This was my first time working in aquaculture and it really opened my eyes to a new field. After finishing University, I did my final internship in Seychelles, which mainly focused on turtle nesting and coral conservation. As a result I received my first job as an Assistant Marine Biologist in a resort called Gili Lankanfushi in North Male Atoll, Maldives. This position was very educational and fun. However, I left this position to further my education and went to England to complete my Masters. During my Masters I was offered another position as a Marine Biologist in Waldorf Astoria in South Male Atoll, Maldives. This is where I am now! 

What does a day in your life look like?

My days are very variable as it highly depends on guest activities. If the resort is busy my day is generally very guest oriented with snorkels that include educational material to inspire a more conservational mind-set within the guests. If the guests are interested to learn more about marine life, we can create a coral line together to expand the coral nursery at Waldorf Astoria. I also offer crown of thorns removal dives to those who are passionate about the marine world and if they are scuba certified. When I have time in the office I tend to catch up with work, such as reporting the marine life seen on dives for NGO’s, planning future activities including coral abundance surveys and school visits. 

Picture taken after a crown of thorns removal night dive. These sea stars eat coral so it is vital we remove them from the reef.

Images to show the coral lines project at Waldorf Astoria. We collect broken corals that would die if they were just left on the sea floor. We attach them to ropes and measure the fragment size. The ropes are then put into the coral nursery, which is at a depth of 6 m on the house reef. Every 3 months the corals are assessed for growth and survival. Once the corals are big enough we transplant them back onto the house reef to increase biodiversity.

How do you hope your voice and work as a marine educator will influence others?

Due to my work very influential guests often surround me. The opportunity to inspire these guests who have the ability go on and share their inspiration to their media platforms, which in turn can reach millions of people, creates a very large target audience for me. Reaching this many people can allow for a large-scale change and increase conservation movements worldwide. I hope that my voice bridges the gap between complex scientific articles and the general public. I want to supply a way to increase the understanding of the general public through my ability to supply scientific information in an accessible and fun way. With the increased understanding of conservation within the general public it will hopefully lead to a larger scale change and increased efforts to support conservation.

Why is it so important to engage the community with your work? 

The community is the heart of any conservation project. Without the support of the larger scale population there can be very limited hope for the future of any conservation project. Creating good relationships with the community is vital for a bottom up approach for long-term environmental projects. These are the people who will carry on the project after the scientists/marine educators have left. Therefore, it is important they are equipped with the full understanding of the task at hand and feel like they can truly make a difference and have a voice. Our job is inspiring them to want to make these positive changes and support their community in doing the same. 

What other endeavours/hobbies/dreams are you pursuing? 

I want to learn another language, at the moment I am deciding between French and Spanish. I think it opens up a new way of thinking and other opportunities. 

 Who or what do you draw your inspiration from?

I get my inspiration from the amazing marine life I see every day. They have such complex and beautiful relationships. There is so much we still don’t understand and having the opportunity to work in such a diverse and beautiful environment takes my breath away every day. 

Which ocean species is on your bucket list to see?

I would love to see hammerheads and mola mola! I am planning a trip in April to a place called Fuvahmulah in the south of Maldives to see them. Fingers crossed I am lucky!! 

Whose work has influenced and inspired you?

David Attenborough, but I think he has inspired everyone! 

What is one thing you wish someone had told you/taught you a long time ago?

Have patience and a lot of it! Especially when you are working outside of your home country. First take time to understand the environment and the people you are with before you make too many drastic changes, you first need understanding. 

Where do you go from here?

I would love to work in environmental consultancy. My dream is working on projects but having a permanent base in either England or Australia. But let’s see… Life has ways of changing so quickly…