Ethical Volunteering
Ethical Volunteering Policy
- Version
- 2.0
- Adopted
- October 2026
- Next review
- October 2027
- Policy owner
- Jason Matthews, General Manager
- Approved by
- Magnus Nielsen, Director, and Søren Knudsen, Founder
Our approach
Work That Is Needed, Done Right
Volunteering is only ethical when the work is genuinely needed, done properly, and does no harm along the way.
Marine Conservation Philippines (MCP) is a non-stock, non-profit organisation registered as Marine Habitat Preservation of the Philippines Inc. At MCP, volunteers join long-term reef monitoring, Marine Protected Area management and community work that we carry out with DENR, ENRD and the local governments of southern Negros Oriental. Our survey data is open-access and guides how those governments manage their protected areas.
This policy sets out the commitments behind that work. We review it annually.
Clear lines
What We Won't Do
Some of the most popular volunteer activities in the world do little good, and some do real harm. These are our red lines.
- Ask volunteers to do work they aren't trained for, or to dive without proper safety procedures in place.
- Let a volunteer take the place of a paid local worker.
- Run staged or exploitative experiences, or projects that exist mainly for social media.
- Take part in activities that could harm reefs or communities, however popular they are. Our stance on coral farming is one example.
The policy
Our Eight Principles
1. Community-Led and Locally Relevant
Our work is planned with the government agencies and communities we serve, and it follows needs identified locally, not volunteer preferences. We support long-term conservation goals rather than short-term outputs, and we put building skills within the Philippines first.
In practice
We hold a permanent seat on the Protected Area Management Board for Apo Island, and we are the technical support partner to two municipal alliances in Negros Oriental. We work in fourteen municipalities altogether. We have trained more than 120 government divers, free of charge. We offer fully funded scholarships to local participants. See our partners.
2. Do No Harm
Every activity is planned to avoid ecological, social and cultural harm. Volunteers only take on roles they have been trained for, and we avoid anything that creates dependency on us or undermines local systems.
In practice
We regularly turn down activities that are popular with volunteers but do little for the reef, or worse. Our stance on coral farming explains one such decision in full. We also share what we've learned openly, in online volunteering forums, on LinkedIn and in the Green Fins forums.
3. No Displacement of Local Jobs
Volunteers must never replace paid local workers. Our kitchen, grounds, maintenance, transport, security, school teaching and ocean plastics collection roles are all held by Filipino staff, and we hire, train and promote Filipino colleagues across the organisation.
Volunteers do carry out our reef surveys, and that is deliberate. No local budget exists to pay for monitoring on this scale, so without volunteers it wouldn't happen at all, and volunteer fees pay the salaries of our local team. Divemaster trainees take on some logistical duties as part of their training, always under professional supervision.
In practice
MCP currently employs 35 Filipino staff. Our scholarship programme, launched in 2025, trains Filipino scholars from Open Water to Divemaster with all fees and expenses paid by MCP, and many of our staff started as interns with us. See careers at MCP.
4. Skilled, Structured Contributions
Volunteers and interns work in structured, supervised roles: marine biodiversity monitoring, scientific data collection and analysis, community education and outreach, and capacity building with local partners. We train everyone properly first, so their work can be relied on.
In practice
Our teams carry out 2,000+ reef surveys a year, and the data is open to all on our data portal. Volunteer stays start at six weeks (the average is around ten weeks), because scientifically sound survey work takes training.
5. Environmental Integrity
Conservation outcomes come before the volunteer experience. All diving and fieldwork follows ecological best practice, and we work to keep our own footprint small.
In practice
All our diving follows the Green Fins Code of Conduct, and the only time we touch anything underwater is to remove litter during clean-ups. We have planted more than 31,000 mangroves and collected more than 427 tonnes of marine litter. On base, we recycle about half of our waste by weight, and food scraps never become waste: they feed our chickens and pigs. Our food policy keeps our kitchen's environmental impact low. Volunteering with us isn't carbon neutral, as we don't yet plant enough trees for that, but we work hard to keep its footprint light.
6. Child Protection
We follow our Child Protection Policy, which is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Whenever we run activities with children, volunteers work alongside MCP staff and are never left alone with them, and every activity is planned with a clear purpose.
In practice
Lessons in local schools are taught by Filipino teachers we employ, which gives children consistent, professional teaching rather than a changing cast of visitors. All our staff sign the Child Protection Policy, and we follow its rules on photographing children and sharing their images.
7. Responsible Volunteer Management
Volunteers should know what they are signing up for, and be well supported once they arrive. We set out clear expectations and role descriptions before departure, and provide supervision, mentoring and chances to learn throughout every stay. Our volunteer coordinator lives on site and is prepared to handle any issue before it becomes a genuine concern.
In practice
New volunteers start every other Monday. In addition to dive training, the first week includes briefings on health and safety, local culture and customs, and how life on base works, along with paperwork, certification checks and fitting the personal dive kit volunteers use throughout their stay. During their stay, volunteers attend talks on the science behind our work and its conservation impact.
8. Transparency and Accountability
Good intentions are not enough, so we make our work easy to check. We publish our results, our finances and our data, speak openly about what works and what doesn't, and keep improving based on feedback.
In practice
Our results for every year since 2015 are on our achievements page, and our expenditures page shows where our income goes, volunteer fees included. Every volunteer is encouraged to give feedback in an end-of-stay debrief, and is asked to do so anonymously after they leave. This gives us continuous feedback, which we use to improve our programme. Over the years, that feedback has led to many small changes which, together, have shaped how we work, how we assign staff and even who we hire.
Further reading
Related Policies and Documents
Child Protection PolicyPDF
How we keep children safe in every part of our work.
What to Expect at MCP
What we ask of new arrivals, from the first week to life on base.
Expenditures
Where our income goes, and what it pays for.
Achievements
Our results, year by year since 2015.
Data Portal
Our reef survey data, open to everyone.
Our Partners
The agencies, local governments and organisations we work with.
Want to Work With Us?
Volunteers start every other Monday. Partners, funders and institutions are welcome to get in touch about working together.