Tag: networking communities
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...
Women octopus gleaners and loan sharks in Mozambique
The second update from my time in northern Mozambique, advising local NGO AMA and their Edinburgh-based partner Bioclimate on community-led octopus fishery management… Walking around the small and quiet village of Quiwia with a group of fisherwomen, we see racks of drying octopus lying in...
‘Polvo’ and participatory mapping in Mozambique
It’s a good job I don’t mind getting my hands dirty! I’m standing on an island in the bay of Mocimboa da Praia in northern Mozambique with the sun beating down, and a group of about ten fishermen crowded around...
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...
My village outreach tour experience with the Safidy team in Velondriake
By Lison Garrel, Safidy (Community Health) Programme Coordinator, Belo sur Mer Last month the Belo sur Mer team travelled to Andavadoaka to attend the annual Blue Ventures conference. We spent four productive days catching up with colleagues from all over Madagascar,...
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...
Staff Q&A with Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator
In the sixth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Brian Jones, our Conservation Coordinator, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your scientific background? I studied Biology at Penn State University,...
Staff Q&A with Shawn Peabody, Madagascar Country Director
In the second instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Shawn Peabody, our Madagascar Country Director, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your scientific background? I have a BSc from the...
A much needed repose
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar Living in paradise ain’t always easy. Sometimes you just need to… get away. Nowhere better to do that than in my hometown in eastern Pennsylvania in the middle of winter! Huh? Contradictory as that...
The most beautiful adventure: My first trip beyond Madagascar
by Rado Lebely, Terrestrial & Fisheries Scientist and EDGE Fellowship winner, Madagascar Who would think that I’ve never been outside of Madagascar, never travelled by plane and never seen an international airport? This reality changed when I was accepted to join...
Sailing towards the Barren Isles locally managed marine protected area: tackling the wind and forging ahead
by Olivier Raynaud, Maintirano & Barren Isles Project Coordinator, Madagascar In our quest for a durable and efficient management configuration, in order to preserve and organise the utilisation of the Barren Isles’ precious ecosystems, Blue Ventures has had to address local...
Kayaks (and kava) to Korea: an insider’s perspective at the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress
by Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar We’re seated on the floor in a circle at the Blue Planet Pavilion on the 3rd floor of the International Conference Centre in Jeju-Do, South Korea. Confused passers-by bump into each other and turn...
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...
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...