BREAKING off the beautiful, fragile coral, his flippers creating a cloud of debris which muddies the water, Arnie doesn’t even look up at the divers observing his wanton destruction of the reef that everyone else is trying to save.

We have just been given a lesson in the dive school on the importance of not touching the coral which provides a vital framework to the ecobalance of this part of the Indian Ocean, yet Arnie gives us a perfect display of how not to treat this stunning underwater environment.

But then Arnie is a hawksbill turtle, the largest of a group of about eight to make their home on the 300m-long house reef at Baros, a tiny, Robinson Crusoe-like island in the Maldives, with five-star facilities and diving to die for.

Arnie is simply foraging for food.

It’s 40 years since Baros was created, a high-end luxury paradise with bungalows featuring all mod cons and 24- hour butler service. The resort also benefits from its own sandbank island, on which you can enjoy a sunrise breakfast, and its own dhoni (a traditional Maldivian boat), on which you can sip champagne at sunset.

Baros has seen much competition spring up in the past four decades. There are now a reported 102 resort islands in this heavenly hotspot south of India and west of Sri Lanka, and I’m told another 20 resorts are in the pipeline.

This might seem a drop in the ocean for a territory comprising about 1,190 coral islands forming 26 atolls, the regions of the country, but how much damage is tourism doing?

Before guilt sets in, we need to look at the bigger picture.

Global warming produces the biggest threat to coral reefs and the Maldives in general, as rising sea levels threaten to engulf the islands, given that the Maldives’ highest natural point is just 2.4m.

Yet tourism has, in some ways, helped to preserve much of the marine life which once was unprotected.

Dutchman Ronny Van Dorp, owner of the Baros dive centre, says that in the 17 years he has been there, he has seen shark numbers dip – fishermen would hunt them for shark fin soup – and rise again, following a total ban on shark hunting a few years ago. Now, we see harmless blacktip reef sharks and nurse sharks in the shallows.

There’s also a ban on the catching of turtles and the sale or export of turtle-shell products, although strangely no ban on the lifting of turtle eggs, which apparently some of the locals like to eat.

He says the increase in tourism hasn’t made the reefs busier, because as numbers have risen, so have the number of resort islands.

Making tourists more ecoaware is all about education, says Ronny.

“Diving is stricter now. It’s not irresponsible. We give clear instructions so everyone knows what to do, not to touch the fish or coral. We dive in small groups, but some islands may have ten divers in a group and they are likely to affect the reefs more.”

Set up in 1979 as one of the first dive centres in the Maldives, Baros was also the first in the Maldives to practise the international Reef Check Programme, educating the public, monitoring reef health and working on solutions to protect healthy reefs and rehabilitate damaged ones.

Baros offers reef watch courses, in which tourists can help gather data through fish and coral identification, which will be collated and sent to the Reef Check database, as well as manta ray information which is sent to Male, the capital, to assess numbers and migration patterns.

Some 15 years ago, the El Nino effect – when the temperature of the waters in the Maldives rose above 32C for about two weeks – caused extensive coral bleaching, killing a lot of coral. In response, resorts set up their own coral planting initiatives.

Baros is among those to offer guests the chance to regenerate the coral, with the help of its experts.

Marine biologist Verena Wiesbauer-Ali teaches us about the importance of coral in the eco-cycle and how coral grows poorly on sand, so needs moving to grow more successfully.

We go out snorkelling in a small group, are shown how to dive down to select the coral for regeneration, choosing bits which have broken off or are growing poorly but are not completely dead.

Metal frames are placed underwater in the shallows while each of us takes what looks like a plastic cable tie and attaches the piece of coral to the frame, repeating the process until it’s full.

The marine biologists at Baros are doing everything in their power to get the conservation message across to tourists.

“Tourism is a hope for the Maldives, not a danger,” says Verena. “It gives people the chance to learn how fragile our coral is and how important it is. I’m thrilled to see a turtle every day. If the tourists weren’t here, these animals wouldn’t be protected.”

Travel facts

Hannah Stephenson travelled to Male courtesy of Sovereign Luxury Travel. A week at the five-star Baros Maldives costs from £1,599 per person – saving up to £662 – booked through Sovereign Luxury Travel (0843-770-4526, sovereign.com). The price includes a free night, return flights from London Gatwick with Emirates, airport lounge access, private transfers and seven nights’ B&B in a de luxe villa, based on two adults sharing a room. Prices based on departures May 2, 2014. For further information on Baros, please visit baros.com.