by Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Madagascar Although located hundreds of miles away in the Mozambique Channel, villages within the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) felt the effects of cyclone Funso’s outer edges last week. A recent report estimated … Continue reading
by Shanta Barley, Field Scientist, Madagascar When Ryan Walker, a biologist based at the Open University, and his team crawled on their hands and knees through 60 kilometres of clothes-shredding, hair-plucking spiny forest between Toliara and the Mangoky River, racking … Continue reading
by Shanta Barley, Field Scientist, Madagascar What constitutes a duvet day for a Vezo shark fisherman? Not the threat of capsizing in seven metre waves, it turns out. Yesterday, Andava bay was peppered with pirogues en route to the Mozambique … Continue reading
By Sam Wragg, Independent researcher, Madagascar Safe in the knowledge that I have plenty of time to write up my third year project when I get back to the UK and with my data collection occurring on a week-on, week-off basis, I’ve … Continue reading
By Christi Turner, Education & Youth Outreach Coordinator, Andavadoaka, Madagascar It is quite extraordinary to be back in Madagascar. This is my adopted home, filled with my extended family, a place that has brought me tremendous personal and professional growth. Madagascar … Continue reading
By Gildas Andriamalala, Velondriake MPA Project Manager, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. Once again I set off across the world from Madagascar to Victoria, Canada, battling with time zones and airport transits, in order to share work experiences from southwest Madagascar’s Locally Managed … Continue reading
By Fran Humber, Research Coordinator, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. Over the last week in Andavadoaka there has only been one thing on our minds – turtles! A festival to raise awareness about marine turtles and their conservation in Velondriake has kicked off … Continue reading
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. The success of Blue Ventures and the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area has attracted a great deal of attention from other organizations implementing community conservation activities. In late May, Velondriake members … Continue reading
By Mirana Razafindramboa, Former BV Scholar, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York State, USA. The zoo in Antananarivo was a strange place in the 1980s. As a child, the lemurs and birds imprisoned in tiny, rusty cages seemed perfectly happy, … Continue reading
Youth of today, although often under-represented in policy and decision making, are playing a critical role within global efforts to conserve biodiversity and mitigate the effects of climate change. Within Madagascar, a thriving network of young conservationists is already at … Continue reading