Seacology identifies projects
through a network of field
representatives on islands around
the world, through staff and board-
member travel and connections,
and through the grapevine — a.k.a.
the “coconut wireless.”
“If a village has a worthy
project, we judge it on its merits,”
Silverstein said. “Our view is that
essentially all of the world’s coral
reefs are threatened to some
degree or another, so we don’t
think it’s necessary to spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars
to say this reef is more threatened
than that one. We very much
respect the knowledge of local
people. If a village chief says his
grandfather used to go out and
come back in an hour-and-a-half
with three buckets of large fish
and now he spends six hours
and gets one bucket of small fish,
that’s proof enough for us.”
The only strict requirement is
that a project occurs on an island.
“The vast majority of all plant and
animal extinctions have taken
place on islands, and almost no
one knows that,” he explained.
“Hawaii has two-tenths of 1
percent of the U.S. land mass but
is home to 72 percent of all plant
and animal extinctions. On some
islands, 30 percent of the species
are found nowhere else.”
In places without indigenous
people, the organization looks at
modest-sized interventions that
can make a long-term difference
in lieu of tangible projects. “For
example,” Silverstein said, “Jamaica’s
Oracabessa Bay is a no-take marine
reserve, but rangers were in an office
a mile inland. When poachers came,
they were gone by the time rangers
knew they were there. We donated
money to repurpose shipping
containers into an office right on
the coast. Since 2011, coral coverage
there has gone up 53 percent and
fish mass 554 percent.”
Seacology takes donors and
potential donors to visit projects
several times a year. “We pay
for equipment and supplies, but
much of the work is provided by
volunteers,” Silverstein said. “That
saves money, but more important,
when people build a project
it becomes theirs. We have a
great track record of villagers
maintaining projects.”
Catherine Gerber of Austin,
Texas, who is in medical sales, was
searching for a life-changing trip
when she came across Seacology
in 2008. She went to Madagascar
and Fiji that year and has since
been on several other trips.
“The communities put on
huge celebrations — absolutely
majestic displays of gratitude
— for what Seacology does,”
Gerber said. “You get in touch
with the community and see
the importance of the project. I
wouldn’t just contribute money to
something I knew nothing about.
Here, you see it, taste it, feel it.
There’s no more rewarding way
to contribute, and just writing a
check can’t compare with seeing
the concrete result.”
— Melissa Gaskill
22
|
WINTER 2014
DIVE SLATE
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The first students to attend
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Fafanlap, on Daram Island,
Indonesia
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