Research undertaken by Blue Ventures’ social scientist, Josephine Langley, between 2004 and 2005 used guidelines developed for coral reef managers to document the knowledge of the local Vezo of Andavadoaka. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and the process of documenting TEK provide local communities with information on local resources and resource users. A new report available online presents the first compilation of the various forms of TEK documented by Blue Ventures, and reviews available information relating to TEK of the Vezo.
Many fisheries and marine conservation management projects throughout the world have failed as a result of a lack of acceptance of management interventions by local communities. Community engagement, participatory research and promoting the use of local knowledge have repeatedly emerged as steps necessary to address the problem of managing the development of people and their economies while simultaneously protecting the environment.
To make coral reef protection effective in an underdeveloped community such as Andavadoaka it is necessary to understand the relationships between marine resources and their users. Identifying ways to avoid the potentially conflicting needs of economic development and conservation is essential.
The report can be downloaded here.
Hello Blue Ventures Fellows!
I’m Leo Jianoti from Brazil. I met Richard at the World Youth Congress in Scotland 2005. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in your workshop about Madagascar’s nature conservation. Amaizing!
About the Report, you got the point. The community engagement is an important effort to ecossystems conservation. Here in Brazil, in our nature preserves, we have worked closely with local communities to increase their partipation on the challenge.
Nice to find you again. By the way, how can I do visit Madagascar and the Blue Ventures’s work there?
Regards! Cheers from Brazil.
Leo Jianoti