North Sulawesi is a destination that attracts divers from around the world. Located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, this lesser-known corner of Indonesia combines everything from towering walls and soft corals to muck diving, mangroves, and otherworldly blackwater dives. The Passport to Paradise program, co-hosted by Murex Resorts and Lembeh Resort, brings all these treasures together in one seamless adventure.
But exploration is only half the story. The program, and the resorts that created it, puts a clear emphasis on sustainability and conservation—from eco-friendly accommodation to ethical diving and coral restoration projects, divers on the tour can help to ensure they tread lightly during their travels, so paradise is protected.
In this article, we take a closer look at the various initiatives currently underway in North Sulawesi, explore their impact on local marine environments, and reveal how you can get involved.
Let’s dive in.
Coral Reef Restoration Partnership
Murex partners with Ocean Gardener (OG), a Bali-based non-profit that works with local communities, hotels, and resorts to establish coral nurseries that help restore surrounding reefs. To date, OG has planted over 1 million corals across Indonesia.
In 2018, Murex and Ocean Gardener created the Outplant Coral Restoration project which combines coral nurseries, artificial reef structures and targeted planting efforts. A key feature of the initiative is guest participation—divers who visit Murex Bangka can volunteer with nursery maintenance and replanting efforts, while also learning about coral ecology and conservation from the experts.
For divers looking to combine exploration with conservation on their travels to North Sulawesi, both Murex Manado and Murex Bangka offer dedicated Ocean Gardener courses, including a half-day Discover Coral Diving Experience and the more comprehensive, three-day Ocean Gardener Coral Diver Certification. You can learn more about both courses here.
Lembeh Resort: Pioneers in Sustainable Resort Management
For all dive resorts, accessing, using, and disposing of fresh water sustainably can be a major challenge. With showers, sinks, rinse tanks, and laundry services in operation every day, man-made chemicals can run off into the ocean, which causes algal blooms, harms coral reefs, and degrades coastal ecosystems.
To address these issues, Lembeh Resort has implemented a range of innovative measures to reduce its environmental impact, with special focus on sustainable water management. From advanced greywater filtration systems to drainage infrastructure and stormwater management, these developments help to conserve resources, protect marine ecosystems, and reduce the resort’s environmental footprint.
Outreach and Education: Supporting Local Communities in Lembeh
In 2018, Lembeh Resort extended its sustainability commitment to the rest of Lembeh Island. By establishing the Lembeh Foundation, a registered non-profit (Yayasan), they set out to support local communities through environmental education and sustainable development.
Focusing primarily on the nearby villages of Pintu Kota Kecil, Pintu Kota Besar, and Baturiri, the foundation runs a range of programs including English lessons, beach and reef clean-ups, coral and mangrove planting, and environmental workshops, along with its Eco Warriors initiative for local teenagers and a purpose-built waste bank, where locals can exchange plastics for a small payout.
Guests at Lembeh Resort are encouraged to engage with these efforts through village visits, clean-up activities, and regular presentations at the resort which showcase the Lembeh Foundation’s ongoing work to protect the island’s people, reefs, and natural resources for future generations.
Solutions to Pollution: Tackling Marine Plastic at Source
Murex Resorts have also partnered with the No Trash Triangle Initiative (NTTI); an ambitious, grassroots organization tackling plastic waste at source. In Manado, Murex has installed river barriers which capture plastics before they enter the sea. The waste is then manually sorted and either recycled, upcycled, or sent for co-processing (an energy recovery method that’s far more sustainable than landfill).
The barriers form part of NTTI’s ‘No-Trash River Project’, which collects more than 250 tons of waste each year. By capturing, processing, and repurposing plastics, the partnership between Murex and NTTI provides a great example of how dive tourism can work together with NGOs to tackle plastic pollution in marine environments.
For more information about Murex Resorts’ partnership with NTTI, please click here.
Two Resorts, One Vision
Murex Resorts and Lembeh Resort provide a clear example of how premier dive travel experiences can go hand in hand with environmental protection. These two operators not only showcase the natural wonders of North Sulawesi; through coral restoration, community outreach, and innovations in pollution mitigation, they are actively helping to protect and restore the ecosystems that make those incredible dive experiences possible.
Visitors to Murex and Lembeh are able to support these efforts through a mix of volunteerism, training, and community engagement. By doing so, they can add their own contribution to an ecosystem of positive impacts, and ultimately benefit the reefs, rubble and muck that brought them here in the first place.
For more information, please explore the Murex Resorts and Lembeh Resort websites.
