Category: Programmes
The (not so) rum diaries: life in Belize
by Anders Hartmann, BV volunteer, Belize After 1 week at Bacalar Chico Dive Camp (BCDC) we have now learned the routines and the focus has moved towards surveys and passing the fish and benthic tests, both on computer and in...
Smartfish-eries and marine protected areas
by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar I recently travelled to Mauritius to attend a workshop funded by the FAO and the EU funded Smartfish programme. A very exciting opportunity which generated some very jealous comments from my UK based...
Welcome to the Velondriake JRC / FTM2V
by HERINDRAIBE, Junior Reporters Club, Madagascar Ny FTM2V dia fikambanana hoan’ny Tanora Mpikaroka sy Mpampita Vaovao ato amin’ny faritra Velondriake sy manodidina azy. Ny fomba fiasan’ny FTM2V dia miara-miasa amin’ny projets misy ato amin’ny Blue Ventures sy ny fokon’olona eto an-toerana,...
Farming seaweed without harming the forest…
By Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Project Coordinator, Madagascar The link between seaweed farming and the forests of Madagascar might not appear obvious at first, but when examined a bit more closely, it starts to make much more sense. Seaweed farming is...
The end isn’t near, it’s here!
by Chris Miller, BV volunteer, Belize We are now in our last week at Bacalar Chico and we are all so sad that our time here is nearly over. Over the past few weeks we have had an amazing time...
Sea cucumbers paving the way to education
by Fran Humber, Conservation Programmes Manager, London Working from the London office of Blue Ventures, it can be easy to forget, underneath the piles of emails and reports, how the projects our colleagues in the field work hard on actually...
Lôlô in the limelight at the fano (turtle) festival in Andranopasy
by Brian Jones, Community Research Coordinator, Madagascar I can’t think of anyone who deserved a t-shirt more than Lôlô… a few hours ago he was in tears after one of our guys, Toto, let it slip to him that he...
Sign me up for Saturday school!
by Merike Bruen, Education Programme Volunteer, Madagascar As I approached the bright yellow school house that sunny Saturday morning, the shrieks of excited children were already audible. Smiling kids proudly sporting their crisp, new, white UNICEF t-shirts raced to the...
Lionfish and camp refurbishments in Belize
By Richard Nimmo, Blue Ventures Expeditions Managing Director. In May I visited Belize to catch-up with the amazing progress that the Blue Ventures team and volunteers have made in recent months. My visit began in the village of Sarteneja in...
Addressing gender differences in natural resource management
by Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Madagascar Octopus is the most commercially valuable species within the Velondriake LMMA (locally managed marine area), bringing in a substantial portion of household income. Traditionally, women harvest octopus most frequently, venturing out on shallow...
Getting bogged down in northern Madagascar: news from the blue forests team
by Trevor Jones, Remote Sensing Scientist, Madagascar Greetings from Ambanja, in the north-west of Madagascar, where the Blue Venture’s (BV) Blue Forests and Coastal Communities (BFCC) team is currently recharging their batteries (figuratively and literally) in preparation for the 4th week...
Velondriake’s first permanent mangrove reserve officially closed
by Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Madagascar The Bay of Assassins, in the southern area of the Velondriake LMMA, is home to vast tracts of mangrove forest. These forests provide local communities with building materials and daily food supplies...
End overfishing or fishing will be over!
by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Research Assistant, London OCEAN2012, Greenpeace, Birdlife International and Oceana have released an animation on overfishing. The animation also includes a reference to the role of fisheries subsidies. This video is to announce the start of European...
Paradise lost: my final few days in Belize
by Colin Engel, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize Monday 7 May This is the day we pack up camp and leave. The first boat took the early birds back at dawn to Sarteneja, leaving half of us some further hours to...
Climate change adaption in southern Madagascar
by Paubert Mahatante, Roger Samba and J. Paul Getty Scholar, Toliara, Madagascar (introduced & adapted by Jo Hudson, BV Science Intern, UK) In this blog entry Paubert Mahatante, Roger Samba and J. Paul Getty Scholar discusses proposed research in the south of Madagascar, to study...