All posts by Blue Ventures

Blue Ventures is an award winning marine conservation charity. We rebuild tropical fisheries with coastal communities. On our Beyond Conservation blog you can hear voices from the front line of marine conservation written by our staff and volunteers.

Scaling affordable credit facilities for fisher communities in East Africa through collaborative learning

About the author: Joan Otengo, Blue Ventures partner support coordinator in Kenya, shares her experiences from the community learning exchange visit to Zanzibar. It has been two years since we launched the Eco-credit Project in Kwale County, Kenya, a fund...

/ Jan 30, 2024

Learning from successful MPAs in Senegal to pave the way for Congo’s first marine protected area

The writers of this blog are part of Renatura Congo, an NGO dedicated to promoting sustainable development through biodiversity conservation. This exchange journey was made possible through co-funding by Rainforest Trust and Blue Ventures, aligning with Renatura Congo’s strategic plan...

/ Dec 14, 2023

Gambian youth group championing green initiatives for a healthier environment

In an effort to make a real difference in their community and address issues related to the environment, members of the Sanyang Youths for Environmental Protection and Development (SANYEPD) are making waves with their hands-on approach to mangrove restoration and...

/ Dec 1, 2023

Our first-ever peer-to-peer learning exchange on blue carbon ecosystems in Madagascar

Holly Elgar joined Blue Ventures in 2022 as a Senior Scoping Officer for blue carbon ecosystems. Holly uses her expertise to identify potential sites to expand our community-led mangrove management projects around the world. Here she talks about her recent...

/ Jul 19, 2023

Supporting women in Mozambique to protect their marine areas

Last night, on the eve of International Women’s Day, Mozambique organised a ministerial-level UN debate about how the security council can work together for the common good of women’s empowerment. We asked Habiba Mussa, our colleague in Mozambique, to tell...

/ Mar 8, 2023
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Celebrating fishers on the Kenyan coast

In January this year our partner Bahari Hai organised and hosted a conservation festival in Watamu, a small town on the northern coast of Kenya. They invited us to help with the planning and execution of the activities. Our fisheries...

/ Feb 24, 2023

The Barren Isles – living on the edge of the world

Supported by the Blue Action Fund (BAF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Blue Ventures and its implementing partners, the Aga Khan Foundation, Abalobi, MIHARI, and OSDRM recently began delivering a conservation and community engagement project with communities on the...

/ Feb 15, 2023

Putting communities at the heart of coral reef monitoring in Timor-Leste

Our Conservation Officer in Timor-Leste, Armindo Marques, talks about his journey with BV and training a team of Timorese reef monitoring volunteers.

/ Jan 16, 2023

Voices from COP15

The end of the year brought two major events to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and to decide the fate of humanity, and the future of all life on earth. After Egypt hosted the climate COP27...

/ Dec 10, 2022

Voices of young community leaders

Speaking up for change in Antsahampano village through mangrove conservation. This is the final piece in a four-part series on the voices of young community leaders from Madagascar. Joséphine Besonoa, the community mangrove management association (VOI) technician, speaks on how...

/ Jul 27, 2022

Voices of young community leaders

Encouraging youth to care more for the environment This is the third piece in a four-part series featuring the voices of young community leaders from Madagascar. Fisherwoman Yolande Soamihaja describes her journey as she inspires fellow youth to take on...

/ Jul 20, 2022

Voices of young community leaders

Changemaking through the art of ‘kabary’ speechmaking in Madagascar This post is the second of a 4-part series featuring the voices of young community leaders from Madagascar. In this second part, Landry Jaofasy, a farmer, tells us how he gradually...

/ Jul 15, 2022

Voices of young community leaders

Marie Gorettie; my public commitment to the environment as a youth leader. This post is the first of a four-part series featuring young leaders in Madagascar who are using their voices to protect their communities and the marine environment. Josephine,...

/ Jul 13, 2022

Shrimp return to the locally managed bay in northern Madagascar

By Nantenaina Ardo NIRISOA, Site Leader (Ambanja, Tsimipaika Bay, Madagascar). More than seven years ago, when I was working as a fisheries and aquaculture technician in Ambanja in Madagascar’s northwest, I set up a network of fisheries data collectors. I...

/ Jul 6, 2022

Improving the health status of coastal communities through health-environment partnership forums

Soon after joining Yayasan Pesisir Lestari (YPL) in 2021, I had the opportunity to meet our partners integrating health interventions into their conservation work at a forum. I was both excited and nervous to host such a forum with YPL...

/ Mar 4, 2022