A Protected Source

A natural product is only as valuable as its supply. Villani’s sponge grows in a protected natural environment, and its annual life cycle allows a renewable harvest.

The sponge grows in a remote National Reserve protected by UNESCO. The reserve is isolated from industrial activity and from much of the environmental variability of open waters. The sponge’s chemistry depends on this environment, so it cannot simply be transplanted and grown elsewhere.

A Renewable Annual Harvest

Each winter the sponge survives as dormant gemmules, and each spring it regrows. The colony renews itself every year, so harvesting does not depend on slow-growing populations.

A Sustainable Management Plan

In 2004, Villani, together with scientific institutions and local resource management organizations, developed a management plan for the sustainable harvest of the sponge, including Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). The plan was adopted before large-scale harvesting began. It also addresses equitable sharing of benefits with the local communities that depend on these resources.

The entire harvested biomass is used, without waste.

Ocean Matters

Maria Villani is a member of the Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Futures Society, a non-profit marine conservation and education organization that serves as a “Voice for the Ocean” by communicating the critical bond between people and the sea and the importance of wise environmental policy.