Results for: community exchange

Five years in Timor-Leste

Birgit Hermann (country director) and Oldegar 'Ollie' Massinga (operations manager) who head up the Blue Ventures team in Timor-Leste, reflect on five years of working with communities to drive locally led marine conservation in the country

/ Jul 14, 2021

A better life, together

Locally led marine management inspiring hope for the future in Comoros

/ Jan 9, 2019
Ambiky village in Tsimipaika Bay | Photo: Adrian Levrel

Fisheries management that works for everyone

For three years, Blue Ventures has been working with stakeholders and communities in Tsimipaika Bay, northwest Madagascar, to develop an innovative, integrated and consensual Fisheries Management Plan.

/ Oct 31, 2018

Veda de polvo: temporary octopus closures in Mozambique

Our partner WWF Mozambique has recently facilitated two community-led octopus closures following a learning exchange to Velondriake, Madagascar.

/ Apr 26, 2017

From Ataúro to Raja Ampat: a homestay adventure

Homestays offer a way for coastal communities to diversify and strengthen alternative livelihoods, providing a clear and measurable link between protecting the environment and the economic benefits that tourism can bring.

/ Mar 1, 2017

The village outreach tour: catalysing conversations with isolated communities

The Blue Ventures outreach team recently competed their second tour of 2016, engaging 32 coastal communities from southwest Madagascar in conversations about sexual and reproductive health, water purification and natural resource management.

/ Dec 28, 2016

Building a positive future for fishing in the Comoros

Last October we supported our partner Dahari as they launched a new mission: the establishment of sustainable fishing and community management of marine resources on the island of Anjouan.

/ Aug 17, 2016

Open source conservation

Blue Ventures' Al Harris writes his thoughts on the future of conservation from the front line of our work in Madagascar.

/ Apr 16, 2015

Relocating to the bright lights of Toliara

By Shawn Peabody, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar. In September, I left the dramatic ocean sunsets, gently lapping ocean waves, and starry, breezy nights of BV’s Andavadoaka field site for the dust, noise, and stagnant air of the city of Toliara....

/ Mar 29, 2011

Empowering Ende: monitoring coral reefs for thriving fisheries

How local expertise and data-driven conservation are reviving octopus fisheries in Ende, Indonesia Arya Dhani joined Blue Ventures in November 2022 as a Fisheries and Data Technician in Indonesia. Arya uses his fisheries management expertise to provide technical support to...

/ Aug 9, 2023

‘This land is ours’: exploring new partnerships with Tiniguena in Guinea-Bissau

As we approached the remote island of Formosa at sundown after a two-hour boat ride from Guinea-Bissau’s capital Bissau, I was overwhelmed by the vibrant nature that surrounded us. Fish eagles greeted us with eerie calls, and flocks of pelicans...

/ Nov 24, 2022

Sharing nature-based customary practices to drive climate change adaptation across the Pacific

BV's Country Director in Timor-Leste, Birgit Hermann, on her recent trip to Fiji with conservation leaders from the region to launch new projects to strengthen the resilience of Pacific islands to climate change by using nature-based solutions. 

/ Oct 11, 2022

Improving the health status of coastal communities through health-environment partnership forums

Soon after joining Yayasan Pesisir Lestari (YPL) in 2021, I had the opportunity to meet our partners integrating health interventions into their conservation work at a forum. I was both excited and nervous to host such a forum with YPL...

/ Mar 4, 2022

Darawa fishers: Moving away from destructive fishing to become leaders in coastal resource management

In the early 2000s, some fishers from Darawa island, located southwest of the Kaledupa sub-district of Wakatobi Regency in Indonesia, caught fish by destructive methods. The previously uninhabited island lacked plantations, and the fishers who moved there from the nearby...

/ Nov 17, 2021

Mapping the future: communities come together to discuss locally managed marine areas in Timor-Leste

In February, nine coastal communities from across Timor-Leste came together in Beto-Tasi for the biggest learning exchange ever organised by Blue Ventures in the country.

/ Jun 30, 2021