Marine Conservation

Research

La Fuerza del Buzo is on the front lines of marine conservation, working with divers to collaboratively design and conduct research to help inform divers’ management plans and adaptation to environmental change. Since 1991, divers in Chile have managed near-shore marine resources jointly with the government. They understand that their futures are intertwined with the health of the marine environment. La Fuerza del Buzo works with focus groups of divers to identify research needs that will help inform their future management. Our current research projects include:

• Conserving Seaweed: Divers and La Fuerza del Buzo co-identified the need to conserve seaweed beds for their ecological, economic and cultural value. Seaweed is also an important carbon sequester to mitigate climate change. We are working with resource users to gather their local ecological knowledge of certain seaweed population dynamics and distribution to develop spatial and temporal distribution and abundance models for critical regions of giant kelp to inform kelp management and conservation measures.

Public Health

Diving Accident Prevention Workshops

La Fuerza del Buzo works to minimize the frequency of diving-related illnesses through programs on gear maintenance and better diving practices taught by Chilean physicians and dive instructors. It has been shown that gear maintenance and improved diving practices, such as timed pauses coming back to the surface, can reduce the incidence of Decompression Sickness in divers.

Our long-term goals are to expand the implementation of these programs to more communities throughout northern Patagonia and beyond. Furthermore, we will develop a program that can be used in diving communities around the world to support their livelihoods and the marine ecosystems on which they depend.

Community Development

Capacity Building

On average, a diver make the equivalent of $200-$300 USD per month and many divers live in poverty. Northern Patagonia is the most impoverished area of Chile, with around 34% living under the poverty line, compared to 24% of the population nationwide. To address issues of poverty, La Fuerza del Buzo works with each community to identify needs that we can support through programming and fundraisers.

We are currently working with community leaders to:

• Develop an internship program for high school students who would like work in the rural sector.

• Create a scholarship program to aid students in their pursuit of higher education, with a focus on students who pursue studies in the fields of health, marine conservation and community-development.

• Implement English “Discussion Hour” program in High Schools