| Our
Mission
Save the Waves is an environmental coalition dedicated to preserving the world's surf spots and their surrounding environments. Our goal is to preserve and protect surfing locations around the planet and to educate the public about their value. Save the Waves works in partnership with local communities, foreign and national governments, as well as other conservation groups to prevent coastal development from entering the surf zone.
The Problem
Some of the world's best surfing waves have vanished forever, buried by large coastal developments. Killer Dana, Petacalco, La Barre, all were among the world's best, and yet they were buried without much of a fight. As the world population of surfers grows, overcrowding in the line-up has become a pervasive problem. Most surfers will concur that what this world needs is more places to surf, not less of them.
The culprit in most of these cases has been the construction of marinas (Dana Point) or jetties (La Barre, Petacalco), which either bury a spot or vastly alter the natural sand flow patterns. If these developments had been given the proper coastal impact studies, these waves might still exist. Today, there are many other waves in the world that are facing a similar fate (see our list of endangered waves).
There are also numerous places in the world where the water is too polluted to surf, yet another of the ocean's most pervasive environmental threats. Save the Waves works to protect surfers from whatever might keep them out of the water.
What We Do
Save the Waves uses many tactics to promote the argument that surf spots have a very high social and economic value. Every threat to a surf spot is different dependent on the country where it is occurring, local laws and culture, and the enforcement of environmental law. Each campaign is approached in a careful and unique manner, taking all of these factors into account. Our objective is to achieve the goal of complete surf spot protection. To do so, we often create alliances with local or international environmental organizations, and join forces to create a campaign that will most effectively ensure the protection of surfing resources. To read more about all the programs we are currently involved in, click here.
How We Are Different
Save the Waves Coalition is the only non-profit that protects the rights of surfers on an international scale, no matter where the problem might be. We are close partners with many other organizations that do work similar to our own, such as the Surfrider Foundation, and differ only in our intense focus on protecting the surf zone, and the international scope of our campaigns. |
