macrobubble
Contributor
From my own experience I can say the exact opposite on several accounts.I've not seen a single good thing the CDWS does. Possibly in Sharm they do things (especially for those centres they're related to/pay the backsheesh etc) but outside there they seem to contribute absolutely nothing what-so-ever towards conservation or diver safety. It seems they have a policy to actively ignore any complaints/queries even those with photographic evidence.
They have acted on complaints, have given reasonable advise, have helped on legal issues - and all that without being affiliated or related to them in any way. The people I´ve dealt with were sensible and polite (without one too well known exception who is no longer with them) and showed great understanding about the needs of the industry. They were never prejudiced against foreigners, realistic and really care about the standards and the safty of diving in Egypt.
Yes, sometimes they offered stupid ideas (which mostly were corrected sooner or later), they asked for quite a bit of money annually, they allowed themselves to judge and interfere in my work as an instructor (questioning students and divers), which I don´t think they are either qualified nor do they have a right to do so (only the relevent agencys can judge my work) - but over all their influence on diving in Egypt was way more positive than negative.
I don´t know your experiences with the CDWS, but judging from your posts they must have been not very pleasant, to say the least...
I still think it is a little bit unfair to dismiss a whole organisation with all the people involved as "corrupt" based on probably isolated incidents. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I would caution against making them the one and only defining measuring stick.