About Our Program

Aow Thai Marine Ecology Center (ATMEC) is a marine science focused initiative by Love Wildlife Foundation. Established in 2020, ATMEC conducts marine biodiversity and ecology research to support conservation in collaboration with Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) across the Gulf and Andaman coastline of Thailand.

During our first phase (2020-2024), we provided in-depth education in marine biology and ecology to over 500 students and interns of all ages during and after the global pandemic. Through ATMEC, students and researchers are given exclusive access to stay at Koh Mun Nai, our initial field-research station, in partnership with the DMCR who manage the island. In mid 2023, a complete redevelopment began, including refurbishment of all facilities and infrastructure at the island. During this time, ATMEC paused the majority of our education activities, prioritizing our nation-wide research endeavours and working to assist the DMCR in academic and conservation efforts during and after the 2024 global coral bleaching and mortality event

Now in our second phase, we are working to build on the successes of our first five years towards facing the challenges of the marine environment across Thailand. Our projects focus particularly on assessing and optimizing coral reef conservation efforts, from removal of discarded fishing gear to harnessing reproduction and recruitment to promote genetic diversity. We also manage the largest sea turtle citizen science project in the country, study coral-killing organisms, and pursue taxonomic research with several new and rare species described and documented in recent years.
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The core theme of our work remains unchanged: we utilise research and education to maximise the impact of evidence-based marine biodiversity conservation efforts. The scale of our efforts, our projects and our collaboration have expanded to encompass the wider Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman coastline, and we plan to take that responsibility seriously. Not only do we expect to return to Koh Mun Nai when redevelopments have concluded, but we have already begun further developing our research, conservation and educational work at sites across the country.
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