After developing the Responsible Whale Watching Certification and receiving excellent take up in countries including Mexico and South Africa, the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) — the largest network of whale and dolphin watching experts — had been struggling to roll out the programme in countries where boat operators don’t tend to have the funds required for training.
As a way to reduce costs but achieve maximum impact, the WCA concluded that providing certification training would only be possible (in certain countries) if whale watching cooperatives were developed, in partnership with local NGOs.
To administer the setup of these cooperatives, sankalpa has funded a full time staff member for 12 months. The new team member is cocreating the programme alongside NGOs, fishing and whale watching communities in East Africa and South America.