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Dante V. Morgan Portillo Blue Water Societ President

Ocean conservation, a commitment of all.

One question that many people ask me on social networks and interviews is: Why does Blue Water Society accept company sponsorship?

The answer is simple. All human activity therefore contaminates everyone should do something to repair the negative effects of industrial activity. In our case, the interest of the Blue Water Society is the conservation of the oceans. Accepting company sponsorship is giving companies the opportunity to return something they take from nature.

It is much more sincere to give companies the possibility of taking effective measures to preserve ocean resources, which simply do not do so and continue using natural resources without returning anything in return. This is a more logical and realistic line of thinking. These contributions will also help strengthen the corporate image of the companies and make them socially and environmentally responsible.

The inevitable question that arises immediately from this logic is: If Blue Water Society receives contributions from companies, is Blue Water Society an independent NGO?

Our answer is yes, we are independent, but above all, we are pragmatic. It is much more realistic and sincere to give participation to companies committed to ocean conservation and try to repair the damage caused by industrial activity than simply seeing companies as enemies of nature by simply having an industrial activity. That is fanaticism and an unrealistic attitude. Obviously, we only accept companies that are committed, to which we can do an effective job for ocean conservation.

I invite you to investigate a little more the NGOs that proclaim themselves “independent” and that only receive contributions from fanatical followers or other large foundations and will see two patterns that are repeated.

  1. Behind those large foundations that contribute to these «independent NGOs» there are usually big names linked to highly polluting industries. Is that not a highly hypocritical attitude? These “INDEPENDENT NGOs” usually carry out high-impact media campaigns that have a dual function. On the one hand, reach people informing about something bad. Reporting many times is not the same as educating. Is this independence? We must stop being hypocrites and simply accept reality, WE ALL CONTAMINATE, the challenge is to do it minimally and try to repair the damage we do.
  2. The other pattern is to create a legion of many radicalized fans who will contribute money for a just (but manipulated) cause. Most of that money will go into media campaigns to find more fans and of course more money, but not for scientific research or education.

Reporting is not bad, but it is not precisely education. And seeing the monstrous amount of money that some NGOs manage, if they really wanted to contribute something to their conservationist cause and do it in a serious way, apart from informing, they would also have to carry out real scientific research and seek sustainable social development. Millions of dollars spent on advertising and media campaigns and NOT A SINGLE DOLLAR EXPECTED IN RESEARCH? Isn’t this more hypocrisy and manipulation?

In Blue Water Society, we believe in sincerity as the most powerful force to change the current direction of society. So admit that we are all sources of pollution, we should all be part of the solution, especially large corporations.

Ocean pollution is a complex problem with many edges. It is not only useful to investigate and educate but also develop alternative economic activities to supplant economic activities harmful to the oceans.

For this reason, the mission of Blue Water Society has three objectives. EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF NAUTICAL TOURISM as tools for sustainable social development in coastal areas.

Developing these three objectives is not easy and is not free either. It is essential, EDUCATE MORE to create environmental awareness, INVESTIGATE more to know the origin of the problems and propose appropriate solutions and DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES. For all this, a REAL AND SINCERE COMMITMENT OF EACH MEMBER OF THE COMPANY IS NEEDED TO SOLVE A PROBLEM THAT IS EVERYONE. We can no longer look the other way. The life that remains in the oceans is declining at a rate never seen before, in fact, the scientific community officially speaks of a sixth mass extinction and is caused by man.

If this were a Foundation product of a millionaire’s philanthropy, it would probably be doomed to failure. Experience shows that individual actions that only focus on 1 or 2 of the 3 points mentioned in our mission, have a limited scope and work until the philanthropy money runs out. An individual action cannot solve a problem that belongs to the whole society. The entire society needs to compromise with its viability or in other words with its survival as civilization.

You don’t need to be a millionaire to commit to life and take actions to improve marine life. It only takes a little goodwill and wanting to do things correctly, thinking about the common good and not the own or immediate benefit. Everyone’s commitment is the key.

If you agree with this thought and think you can help us conserve the oceans, I invite you to visit our «How to support» section of our website. Your contribution will help us fulfill our mission of educating, researching and sustainably developing vulnerable coastal areas.

If you are a company registered in the Dominican Republic, you have many tax exemptions for supporting Blue Water Society. The conservation of marine life is a commitment of all. You decide.

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