Imagine growing up mere minutes away from the world’s greatest marine and coral biodiversity, yet you never had the chance to experience that beauty for yourself. This is the reality for most Indonesians. As residents of the world’s largest archipelagic nation, home to 17,000 islands and reefs teeming with vibrant life, it’s difficult to believe that so few have seen the beauty of corals that attract millions of visitors every year. As we think about marine conservation and the future of scientific exploration in the Coral Triangle, it’s easy to forget that many coastal communities in the Global South are often excluded from the very tools, training, and access that would enable them to fully engage in marine research and conservation. 

SCUBA plays an integral role in modern marine science from coral reef monitoring and biodiversity surveys to underwater archaeology and climate change studies. It enables scientists and divers to explore the underwater world firsthand, collect data, and observe behaviors that are otherwise inaccessible. As such, it has become a crucial tool for marine ecologists, conservationists, and researchers who need to understand underwater ecosystems and biodiversity. However, the ability to become SCUBA-certified, especially at the scientific level, is not universally accessible, particularly in the Global South. Financial, educational, and capacity barriers constitute an injustice and also limit the scope and quality of scientific work conducted in some of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions. 

The disparity has significant implications for scientific progress and conservation efforts in regions that rely on healthy marine ecosystems for both livelihoods and cultural identity. People are a part of their environments and by excluding them from conservation, foreign researchers often support inaccurate, ineffective, or irrelevant conclusions. Bali is a prime example of this failure, where a few elite research organizations and foreign scientists often dominate the conversation, and concerns of local communities are often left unanswered. 

Local people—despite being surrounded by some of the world’s most biodiverse marine habitats—lack access to SCUBA training and certification. As a result, informal training networks and community knowledge sharing of dive practices have arisen. Representative of larger ways of knowing and equity issues separate from formalized training, curriculum development, and certifications, the Balinese people continue to explore and earn a living from the diverse marine ecosystems they rely on despite formal SCUBA certifications. Researchers, especially those from foreign nations, must ask how the Western scientific process hinders the local production of knowledge and how to dismantle barriers to meaningful engagement with the academe. 

I witnessed these financial and capacity barriers firsthand in the country while conducting research supported by the Fulbright Open Research Award. Working in the coastal area of Buleleng, Indonesia, I partnered with local members of the Pokmaswas, who monitor and report on the use of marine and fishery resources. Two members of this group who have been instrumental in local efforts to train divers and expand access to SCUBA tools and monitoring methods are Bapak Mangku and Bapak Nyoman. 

A man of serious resolve who works primarily at a cigarette distribution plant, Bapak Mangku has dedicated his free time to caring for the reefs beneath the waters of Penimbangan Beach and educating the community and the occasional tourist about the coral degradation he has witnessed in his lifetime. Bapak Nyoman works further east in the villages of Bondalem and Les where he partnered with local schools to launch a marine training curriculum with the opportunity to become a divemaster.

He also regularly hosts students from the local university and recently completed the construction of a new beachfront dive facility, Bondalem Eco Dive – the previous dive center consisted of a single room for storing equipment and required multiple trips to haul gear to the dive site by motorcycle. He is hoping this new facility will also create more opportunities for international visitors to visit the community and witness the community-led coral restoration projects installed during the pandemic. Both Bapak Nyoman and Bapak Mangku received SCUBA certifications and equipment donations through a government grant program which has had a multiplier effect on their respective communities. Most of the divers I met throughout Buleleng Regency received their training from Bapak Nyoman or Bapak Mangku. While dive schools in Bali are in no short supply, for local Balinese and other Indonesians, even the basic entry costs of SCUBA diving training (typically around USD 400 for an Open Water Diver certification) are often prohibitive – the average monthly salary in my research area of Buleleng is less than $200. 

After nearly one year of living in Indonesia, I met less than ten locals who were certified divers through institutions such as SSI or PADI. This financial barrier prevents many from accessing the benefits of SCUBA diving, both in terms of personal exploration and professional development. Without proper training, local fishermen, marine conservationists, and community members have limited means to engage in underwater scientific research or contribute to the growing body of marine conservation knowledge. Furthermore, even when SCUBA diving is accessible, the training may not align with the specific needs or concerns of local communities. Western-oriented diving certifications, such as those issued by PADI or SSI, are focused primarily on recreational diving and may not provide the skills necessary for more applied marine science work, such as underwater ecosystem monitoring or marine resource management.

This is where the localized knowledge of community members such as Bapak Mangku and Bapak Nyoman is essential. They were able to identify every single species of coral and marine creature we encountered on the reefs, knowledge they could share in their native Indonesian, but not always in English or Latin. As the international language of science is English, this once again presents barriers to participation in formalized Western, scientific knowledge production. Bapak Nyoman’s dive center was the only dive shop where I saw Indonesian language species identification cards and posters. 

Addressing these inequities requires more than simply making SCUBA training available to local communities. It requires a systemic approach to capacity building that empowers local stakeholders to take ownership of both marine research and conservation efforts. Capacity building is the process of equipping individuals and communities with the tools, skills, and knowledge they need to understand and address local challenges. It’s about fostering self-reliance, knowledge transfer, and mutual learning—particularly when it comes to scientific and ecological challenges.

In Bali, some transformative initiatives have emerged in recent years that focus not just on providing training, but on ensuring that local people can contribute to scientific work on their terms. LINI Aquaculture & Training Centre in Les hosts local and international researchers and provides training and research opportunities for coral and artisanal aquarium species– a major industry in the village where fishermen long used cyanide and bomb fishing methods. MERO Foundation in the village of Kubu is a newly launched facility, only the second of its kind in Indonesia with state-of-the-art equipment used for marine biology research. They recently launched an internship program for Indonesian students to receive hands-on lab training, research experience, and access to guest lectures supported by the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). These community-based institutions offer a unique opportunity for Indonesians to dive beneath the waves and gain firsthand knowledge of the delicate ecosystems surrounding them.

Capacity-building efforts like these also ensure that local communities have the opportunity to contribute to global conversations on marine conservation, which, in turn, influences research agendas and scientific priorities. I was able to attend multiple community meetings with government officials from the Ministry of Marine Affairs among other relevant bodies to see how community input affects policy and regulatory frameworks for marine conservation. These initiatives emphasize the importance of collaborative research, where both local ecological knowledge and scientific expertise are valued equally. Fishermen who have worked with local reefs for decades possessed invaluable insights into the long-term health of ecosystems, including knowledge about fish migration patterns, reef degradation, and the human impacts on local reefs—information that cannot be obtained retroactively through purely scientific methods.

“Fishermen who have worked with local reefs for decades possessed invaluable insights into the long-term health of ecosystems, including knowledge about fish migration patterns, reef degradation, and the human impacts on local reefs—information that cannot be obtained retroactively through purely scientific methods.” 

This shift toward more inclusive, community-driven research is a critical step in overcoming the historical exclusion of Global South communities from marine science. By training locals in both SCUBA diving and scientific research methods, these programs help to bridge the gap between Western scientific institutions and local knowledge systems.

The recognition and inclusion of indigenous knowledge systems is another crucial aspect of capacity building. The Balinese people have deep, place-based knowledge of their environments, gained through generations of living in harmony with the land and sea, alongside balancing the well-being of others and one’s spirituality. This knowledge, known as Tri Hita Karana, although not always recognized by Western science, can offer valuable insights into marine ecosystems, conservation strategies, and sustainable resource management. Traditional Balinese water temples, which are linked to sustainable water management practices, demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the ecological balance that goes beyond simple resource extraction. By engaging with and incorporating local epistemologies into scientific research, marine conservation efforts become more holistic, culturally relevant, and effective.

Moreover, the inclusion of local knowledge can lead to more sustainable and equitable solutions to marine conservation challenges. It can increase engagement for community-managed projects, enhance knowledge sharing and preservation, and support the long-term success of marine projects. In the context of SCUBA diving, this might mean developing certifications and training programs that take into account local languages, cultural practices, and priorities. It could also involve creating opportunities for local communities to develop their research agendas, grounded in the needs and realities of their environments, rather than relying exclusively on externally driven research questions. 

A relational, relevant approach to conservation is already making waves in Bali. I met with one former artisanal aquarium fisher who shared that he stopped using cyanide to catch fish after a series of meetings between a local NGO worker and his kelompok or fishing group. By respecting local channels and carefully discussing the harmful effects of bomb and cyanide fishing on the reefs and larger marine ecosystem, conservation groups were able to inspire a lasting shift in his fishing practices. He now works as an aquaculture specialist at LINI and a dive guide, hoping to bring awareness to reef destruction for Balinese locals. 

As Bali and other Indonesian coastal communities continue to develop their capacity for marine research and conservation, the future lies in more collaborative, inclusive models. This means breaking down the barriers between the Global North and South and recognizing the validity of multiple ways of knowing and understanding the world.

Capacity building in SCUBA diving and marine science is a vital part of this process, not just for advancing scientific research, but for empowering local communities to protect and preserve their marine environments. By making SCUBA accessible to local divers, providing training in scientific methods, and weaving indigenous knowledge into research practices, we create a more inclusive and effective model for marine conservation that benefits both the science and the communities it seeks to serve.