RESCUE DIVERS - once in a life time opportunity - survey Lake Victoria.

[codolod]

Ok so the title may be a little misleading... Long story short - I wanna see what my prospects would be of gaining diving volunteers for a prospective research project.


This is all just pretend - it's for a university conservation biology module assessment where we have to come up with a feasible project and then write a grant application for it. A couple of people who've done this in the past have actually gone and carried out the project or something similar once they graduated, so I thought I'd pick something I'd like to do just in case

My project will be to survey various (undecided, that would be part of the project) underwater areas of Lake Victoria, the data of which would then be used to advise suitable areas for protection. The plan is to exclude the Nile perch from these areas to allow the rejuvenation of some of the natural biodiversity of the Lake, which was decimated over the last 50 years or so by the introduction of the Nile perch.

What I want to know is this - would you volunteer?

Would you do so if asked to contribute towards some of the cost? say £1000 or to pay for your flights?

Would you do so if asked to contribute more? How much more?

How long would you be willing to spend out in Africa?

You would receive sufficient training (past rescue diver level) to survey sufficiently, and know what to look out for and how to identify key species. Accommodation and two meals per day would be provided (may be more once more research has been done about the area).

THIS PROJECT HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED or anything I just want to find out if I could get the volunteers or if I would have to budget for paid staff.

Thankyou for your help! If you'd like to know anything more please don't hesitate to ask

 

[Diver0001]

What I want to know is this - would you volunteer?

It would depend on the duration of the assignment and confidence I had in the security precautions being taken in country/countries in which we were working. The working/living conditions would be another important consideration, but I think that speaks for itself.

That said, I have experience travelling for extended periods of time in eastern Africa (I've even been diving in Lake Malawi) and I would love to go back.

Would you do so if asked to contribute towards some of the cost? say £1000 or to pay for your flights?

I wouldn't mind paying (and finding) my own way there and back. Room and board and other related project costs (gear, necessary training, maintenance, security, etc) should be covered by the project.

Would you do so if asked to contribute more? How much more?

I have some real-world skills that could be useful. Financially, I would pass if it went further than paying airfare. I believe the project should be funded well enough to achieve its objectives without asking team members to foot the bill. If the funding is insufficient to achieve all of the intended goals then the ambition level should be brought in line with the budget.

How long would you be willing to spend out in Africa?

For the work: 6 weeks comfortable. 8 weeks max assuming my employer would agree to a leave of absence. If at all feasible I would take a little more time and make my way back to Europe overland after the work was done. (I've been waiting for 20 years for a good moment to travel through the Congo. At this point I may just try to run the gauntlet if I´m already there but I´d have to look carefully into how suicidal that would be).

You would receive sufficient training (past rescue diver level) to survey sufficiently, and know what to look out for and how to identify key species. Accommodation and two meals per day would be provided (may be more once more research has been done about the area).

I assume you've been to that part of Africa before. Security and keeping your team healthy are going to be issues that need proper attention and planning. Having a local/Swahili speaking member on your staff is going to be an important link if you're working in remote areas at all.

THIS PROJECT HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED or anything I just want to find out if I could get the volunteers or if I would have to budget for paid staff.

Thankyou for your help! If you'd like to know anything more please don't hesitate to ask

My commitment has also not been confirmed but if this project starts to become viable I could very well be interested in following up as the planning progresses.

R..

 

[Lemna]

You're not the first to come up with such an idea, it even seems to be a viable business model in itself. Look at what Blue Ventures (and others) are able to charge volunteer divers... They started as a university project as far as I know.

 

[Diver0001]

You're not the first to come up with such an idea, it even seems to be a viable business model in itself. Look at what Blue Ventures (and others) are able to charge volunteer divers... They started as a university project as far as I know.

You make it sounds like what Blue Ventures does is sell eco-vacations that are spray painted with something that smells like science. After all, they charge their "volunteers" €400-500 per week for the honour of doing the work.... right?

The simple (and sad) fact is that governments in Europe have created such a financial catastrophe with their lack of fiscal discipline that scientists who really want to do research need to think out of the box with respect to funding. Even necessary research isn't always getting the funding it deserves because governments are busy bailing out banks so that bankers can pay themselves huge amounts of money for making bad decisions that would have been better left to 8 year old kids whose understanding of finances is limited to "my piggy bank is empty, therefore I can't buy any more candy".

Bankers aren't like that. They spent their money, they spent their client's money, then they spent the tax payers money and they're still coming back with their hand out because they're "too important" to all be sent to a penal colony so we can replace them with 8 year old kids who have piggy banks and common sense.

And meanwhile, researchers need to ask "volunteers" to foot the bill for doing things that matter... I doubt very much that Blue Ventures have 50 million dollar boats and they probably don't sit on deck eating caviar, drinking champagne and smoking cigars while their chortle and gloat about how they robbed the world blind and got away with it.

Just guessing.

R..

 

[Lemna]

You make it sounds like what Blue Ventures does is sell eco-vacations that are spray painted with something that smells like science. After all, they charge their "volunteers" €400-500 per week for the honour of doing the work.... right?
<snip>
And meanwhile, researchers need to ask "volunteers" to foot the bill for doing things that matter... I doubt very much that Blue Ventures have 50 million dollar boats and they probably don't sit on deck eating caviar, drinking champagne and smoking cigars while their chortle and gloat about how they robbed the world blind and got away with it.
R..

Diver0001, that's not at all what I meant and I'm sorry if it came across like that.

My girlfriend spent several months with Blue Ventures in Belize, and what they do is scientifically sound. Their volunteers contribute valuable information and have changed policy in Belize for the better. They also paid good attention to data quality. An organization like that will also be able to work for a much longer period than any PhD or postdoc funding will last.

I just wanted to point out that there are many people who will not only dive for you, but are also willing to pay for their travel, room and board. And that it is entirely possible to make a meaningful contribution to science (and society) this way.

To the OP: take a good look at what Blue Ventures and similar organisations do and how they do it. I'm sure they could provide some insights for your project. As biologists, we were both very impressed with them. Send me a PM if you want more information from a volunteers point of view.

 

[Edward3c]

I'm with Diver0001 on this one.

Coral Caye Conservation was one of the first to operate this business model. After 5 years they ran out of the certified divers whom were willing to pay to do research.

Current business model relies on none divers paying to learn to dive and undertake research.

To be honest I think most certified divers have had enough of these schemes.

 

[Lemna]

I'm with Diver0001 on this one.

Coral Caye Conservation was one of the first to operate this business model. After 5 years they ran out of the certified divers whom were willing to pay to do research.

Current business model relies on none divers paying to learn to dive and undertake research.

To be honest I think most certified divers have had enough of these schemes.

I'm not that cynical. Organisations like these need both volunteers and funding, and unfortunately funding agencies are not very likely to pay volunteers anything.

From a scientist's point of view, if you do this right you will get a much larger amount of data than you would be able to get by using only professionals. Policy makers obtain the data they need with a much lower investment of tax payer's money. Jobs are created for the local communities. Volunteers and locals will become more aware of conservation issues... what's not to like?

 

[DanMont]

I lived in Uganda for 2 years when I was younger. From what i remember Lake Victoria was very murky and i can't imagine the vis would have been very good. At certain times of the year you get huge swarms of lake flies on the lake which would be a major problem! You also would need to take into account both the fact that crocodiles and hippo's inhabit the lake and also the possibility of contracting Bilharzia (or Schistosomiasis) which is commonly caught through swimming in central/eastern Africa.

 

[TSandM]

I'd love to go back to Africa, and I'd love to participate in a useful project there, but both Rob and Dan have raised real concerns. Security and health can be major problems in that part of the world.

For such a project, I would pay my own expenses to get there, but expect my living expenses to be covered while working on the project.

I will be getting some very specific training in documentation diving this summer, which might be quite useful in such a project.

It would be interesting to see how it would be written up, and how the health and safety issues would be addressed.

 

[klausi]

Yep. Another issue is that research with immediate practical or medical applications can be funded much more easily than ecology.

---------- Post added June 6th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ----------

You make it sounds like what Blue Ventures does is sell eco-vacations that are spray painted with something that smells like science. After all, they charge their "volunteers" &#8364;400-500 per week for the honour of doing the work.... right?

The simple (and sad) fact is that governments in Europe have created such a financial catastrophe with their lack of fiscal discipline that scientists who really want to do research need to think out of the box with respect to funding. Even necessary research isn't always getting the funding it deserves because governments are busy bailing out banks so that bankers can pay themselves huge amounts of money for making bad decisions that would have been better left to 8 year old kids whose understanding of finances is limited to "my piggy bank is empty, therefore I can't buy any more candy".

Bankers aren't like that. They spent their money, they spent their client's money, then they spent the tax payers money and they're still coming back with their hand out because they're "too important" to all be sent to a penal colony so we can replace them with 8 year old kids who have piggy banks and common sense.

And meanwhile, researchers need to ask "volunteers" to foot the bill for doing things that matter... I doubt very much that Blue Ventures have 50 million dollar boats and they probably don't sit on deck eating caviar, drinking champagne and smoking cigars while their chortle and gloat about how they robbed the world blind and got away with it.

Just guessing.

R..

Yep. Another issue is that research with immediate practical or medical applications can be funded much more easily than ecology.