Category: LMMA
We’re supporting coastal communities to develop their own locally managed marine areas, designed to sustain local fisheries and safeguard marine biodiversity.
A theory of change: communities think critically about pathways to sustainable management
By Cicelin Rakotomahazo, blue forests socioeconomic scientist, Madagascar A few months ago, the blue forests team set out to facilitate a “Theory of Change” exercise with communities from nine villages in the Bay of Assassins, in the Velondriake locally managed marine area in southwest Madagascar. The Bay of...
Setting sail in Maintirano: the early days
by Florence Pichon, Barren Isles Project Coordinator, Maintirano, Madagascar I can hardly believe it’s been two months since I arrived in Maintirano; a sleepy, beautiful coastal town in western Madagascar. Settling in here as the new project coordinator for the...
Mangrove reserve openings in Belo sur Mer: a photo diary
By Jeremie Bossert, Belo sur Mer Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar Mangrove forests provide rich fishing grounds for many coastal people in western Madagascar. Blue Ventures first trialled mangrove reserves – temporary areas closed to all fishing – with the community of...
On the road: tales from your semi-nomadic Conservation Coordinator
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar (All photos courtesy of Brian Jones) After almost six years of living in remote villages throughout Madagascar, the modern amenities of Toliara, like hot showers and wifi, were a welcome relief when I...
Entering the third dimension in Belo sur Mer
By Jérémie Bossert, Belo Sur Mer Coordinator, Madagascar Finally Madagascar has a democratically elected president! Things here have a tendency to move slowly, be it getting an authorisation signed, ordering a new generator part, or even electing a president. However,...
Celebrating reef week in Belize
Every year, organisations from across Belize come together to organise “reef week”, with a range of activities highlighting the crucial role of coral reefs in the country’s economy, food security and cultural heritage. In Sarteneja, Blue Ventures celebrated the event...
Tsy veloma fa mandra-pihaona! (It’s not goodbye, but see you next time!)
By Shawn Peabody, Former Country Director, Madagascar It took me 30 hours to get to Andavadoaka the second time I went there. I took the octopus truck – and I was lucky in that I got a seat at the...
Staff Q&A with Frances Humber, Conservation Programme Manager
In the eighteenth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Frances Humber, our London-based conservation programme manager, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your professional background? Despite the cliché, I had decided...
Making an IMPAC at the International Marine Protected Areas Congress
by Olivier Raynaud, Maintirano & Barren Isles Project Coordinator, Madagascar Following Geeling, Australia in 2005 and Washington DC, USA in 2009, the third International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC3) was held in Marseilles, France in October 2013. Jointly organised by the...
Mapping resources with the communities in the Bay of Assassins
by Katrina Dewar, Field Scientist, Madagascar This was my first introduction to the lives of the Blue Forests team – finally I got to go on an adventure with them! For a whole week we worked on developing resource use...
Coast-to-coast fisher exchange: from reef octopus to spiny lobster
Lobster fishers from Sainte Luce travelled almost 1,000 kilometres across southern Madagascar to learn from Velondriake’s experience of temporary octopus closures Blue Ventures is working to support some of Madagascar’s most isolated coastal communities to manage their fisheries and marine resources. Starting with a...
Building reef resilence: my experiences from Zanzibar
by Rado Lebely Botosoamananto, Terrestrial & Fisheries Scientist, Madagascar I was told the first time I travelled outside of Madagascar, that while this may be a first for me, it won’t be the last time I leave; and it must...
Staff Q&A with Charlie Gough, Senior Marine Scientist, Madagascar
In the twelfth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Charlie Gough, our Senior Marine Scientist, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your scientific background? Academically: a BSc in marine and coastal ecology...
Fisher exchanges to change fisheries
by Shawn Peabody, Country Director, Madagascar Examples of coastal communities coming together to take on overfishing and reduce destructive fishing aren’t too hard to find. In nearly every region there are good examples of these “positive deviants”, as the literature...