Category: Madagascar
Freediving fishers on a mission to map Barren Isles seagrass beds
Participatory mapping reaps dividends in the largest locally led marine protected area in the Western Indian Ocean.
Corals in crisis: monitoring the third global bleaching event in southwest Madagascar
This summer Blue Ventures volunteers and staff in the remote fishing village of Andavadoaka in southwest Madagascar have been enjoying warm waters and calm weather. However, beneath the waves the picture is less idyllic. Where once we dived on reefs...
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...
New beginnings across the Mozambique Channel
Support partnerships with the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Peace Parks Foundation are set to integrate community health services into coastal resource management efforts in two of Mozambique’s most critical marine ecosystems.
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...
Velondriake villages stake their claim to mangrove conservation
This week sees both International Forests Day and World Water Day - what better way to explore the intertwined nature of the two than celebrating mangroves - incredible areas where the forest meets the sea.
Unrivaled: a celebration day for the girls club of Andavadoaka
Women in Velondriake are becoming increasingly dynamic and motivated to make change, and girls are, at the same time, the result and the future of this expanding movement.
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...
Aquaculture in profile – Jira: “We write our songs to express our love for the lomotse”
Some people write songs about their cherie (dear) to express their love. We write our songs to express our love for the lomotse. That’s what moves us.
Aquaculture in profile – Clarisse & Ringo: “I just hope the fish return”
Two years ago, Clarisse and Ringo packed up their family of nine and moved from Bevohitse in the south of Velondriake to Ambolimoke in the north. They were following the fish.
Aquaculture in profile – Soanatoa: “If you take care of it, then you benefit.”
As he talks, Soanatao draws shapes in the bleached Nosy Tsolike sand with a piece of splintered wood he found in the same spot. He doodles, like one does on a piece of scrap paper while chatting to a friend...
From the classroom to the field: Malagasy marine science students join Blue Ventures’ Expeditions
In the early hours of a crisp morning in Toliara, two Malagasy marine science students, Andry Razakandrainy Andriamanjato and Max Lahitsiresy Gasimandova, eagerly wait to hop into a car full of international volunteers destined for their new home in Andavadoaka...
Aquaculture in profile – Marie-Louise: “We are preparing for our future”
The sun is at high noon just a few days after winter solstice in Lamboara. Marie-Louise and five of her fellow seaweed farmers sit in ankle-deep water tending to cords of seaweed. The women laugh, sing and dance while working,...
Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m your protected area
Creating a new protected area takes time. The members of the Velondriake locally managed marine area (LMMA) management association in southwest Madagascar have been patiently biding theirs for a number of long years. The seven-year journey towards formal government recognition...