Category: Don’t Miss
Some of the best posts from our archive!
Meet the ‘Monster of Bahoi’
“If I die today or tomorrow it makes no difference. I have no regrets. This protected area is for the continuity of the lives of my children and their children. I do this for the sake of many people.”
Beyond population: reaffirming our rights-led approach to marine conservation
On World Population Day, it’s time to have a more nuanced discussion about population dynamics and sustainability that centres the rights of people in the global south while recognising the responsibilities of people in the global north
Toudani: inspiring a connection with land, ocean and culture
Women in Fisheries 2: an interview with Nurmayanti of FORKANI
International Year of the Reef: why 2018 is the year to get involved!
Coral reefs are facing increasing global threats, but there’s still hope for these vital ecosystems...
The whales are coming: cetacean surveys around Ataúro Island
Blue Ventures staff and volunteers join Karen Edyvane of the National University of Timor-Leste in her yearly quest to study the pygmy blue whale migration.
A unique opportunity to experience community-based fisheries management
Madagascar volunteer Jessie Skedd shares her insight after witnessing the opening of octopus fishing grounds following a period of temporary closure.
Conserving the Bay of Assassins: the story so far
From village meetings to mangrove mud, this is the story of three years of effort from coastal communities to protect the mangroves of the Bay of Assassins in southwest Madagascar
What does kung fu have to do with octopus fishing?
The making of “Tovo the octopus gleaner”, a Vezo film featuring intense kung fu action and a mysterious octopus mermaid designed to spread good fisheries practices!
A year of self critique and tough decisions
Over the past year, three of our senior staff in Madagascar have been working with the Earth Skills Network to reflect on, and improve, the management of our conservation programmes.
Working across sectors for real change: community health workers advance marine management in their villages
As communities in Velondriake voted an unprecedented proportion of women and youth into the committee governing their locally managed marine area, our teams in Belo sur Mer and Maintirano have been busy training community health workers to engage more people in...
Elections bring new leaders and energy to governing Madagascar’s first locally managed marine area
Women and youth now make up a resounding 85% of Velondriake’s management structure! As turmoil returned to Malagasy high politics last month, the Velondriake Association – responsible for the governance of Madagascar’s flagship Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) – demonstrated...
Aquaculture in profile – Mme Luciene: “I want to be able to send my children to university”
The livelihoods and cultural identity of Vezo people in southwest Madagascar are intimately intertwined with the marine environment. Vezo livelihoods, however, are increasingly threatened by overfishing and mangrove deforestation, largely driven by demand from outside markets. Climate change is also...
Aquaculture in profile – Kirise: “Seaweed farming got me out of poverty, but if I wasn’t motivated, I would still be poor”
“Miarakara zaho (I take care of things). I can afford to buy clothes and food now,” she says, while kneeling next to her thatched home, just steps from the sand’s damp high tide mark on Nosy Tsolike’s beach. From her...
New partnership brings vital health services to isolated fishing settlements in the Barren Isles archipelago
Blue Ventures links up with JSI/MAHEFA to provide family planning options and basic healthcare to remote communities in the Indian Ocean’s largest locally managed marine area.
Condoms, crabs and cottonii seaweed: progress update from Belo sur Mer
From humble beginnings over five years ago, locally led mangrove fishery management initiatives are now flourishing in Belo sur Mer and surrounding villages, alongside community-based health promotion and alternative coastal livelihoods in the form of aquaculture.