By Sally Grice, Blue Ventures Volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. When we first arrived at Half Moon Beach the first thing that we noticed was the spectacular view across the sea, stretching from Andava Beach and beyond to Coco Beach in the … Continue reading
By Georgie Killingbeck, Blue Ventures Volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. My first experience on a pirogue was our journey to Nosy Hao, a day trip to a nearby island with all the volunteers. It is a very relaxed and gentle way of … Continue reading
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. On Saturday, February 26th, Blue Ventures hosted an annual Open Day celebration in Andavadoaka to showcase our work to the local communities. In the BV classroom, marine conservation videos captivated audiences … Continue reading
By Charlie Moffat, BV Volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. Turtle hunting is illegal in Madagascar, but despite this, BV have found that a huge amount of turtle hunting continues – the estimated catch of turtles in Southwest Madagascar is between 10,000 and16,000 … Continue reading
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. On Saturday, Feb 5th, four temporary octopus reserves in northern Velondriake opened after a two month closure. The reserves were officially opened with a blessing from the ancestors and well over … Continue reading
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator. The zebu (cow) lies in the shadow of an expansive tamarind tree, as if resigned to fate – feet tied, breathing deeply, slowly, eyes only half-open. It had been led to this place … Continue reading
By Lalao Aigrette, Coastal resources Manager. From the 22nd of November to the 4th of December 2010, I attended a regional training course on Marine Protected Areas management in Western Indian Ocean (WIO) held in Mombasa, Kenya. The training was … Continue reading
Madagascar conservationist Gildas Andriamalala has been awarded a Masters degree in Communication from Georgetown University, Washington DC, for his work promoting community-based marine conservation in his home country. As part of his Masters, Gildas developed an ambitious social marketing campaign … Continue reading
Over the last several days, Velondriake committee members welcomed more than twenty guests from Blue Ventures’ second site in Belo-sur-mer, located north of Andavadoaka. The group consisted of members of several local communities, representatives of an environmental group and Madagascar … Continue reading
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator. In Velondriake, only 34% of children under the age of 16 currently attend school, and this is usually only primary school; very few remain for secondary education. Dropout rates are high primarily due … Continue reading