Category: Locations

Conserving biodiversity in an ever expanding world

by Jo Hudson, Science Intern, London Dr Vik Mohan, Director of the Blue Ventures Sexual & Reproductive Health programme, joined John Williams  and David Lopez-Carr (both from the University of California)  to speak (via a live weblink) at the Woodrow Wilson...

/ Apr 3, 2012

Great expectations: some thoughts from some of our volunteers

by Cara MacDonald, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar The two weeks I have been volunteering in Andavadoaka have flown by and we have managed to do so much already! In our first couple of days we traveled via pirogue to Lamboara....

/ Mar 27, 2012

BV Scholar Paubert is ‘cruising’ on a wave of success

by Paubert Mahatante, Roger Samba and J. Paul Getty Scholar, Toliara, Madagascar (introduction by Joanna Hudson, Blue Ventures Science Intern, London) Introduction: This blog is written by Blue Ventures scholar, Paubert Mahatante, who was chosen to participate on a Agulhas and Somali...

/ Mar 20, 2012

When the going gets tough? The tough keep surveying: exploring the mangrove forests of NW Madagascar

by Dr. Trevor Jones, Remote Sensing Scientist, Madagascar The Blue Forests and Coastal Communities (BFCC) team is currently in transit on the long (>2500km!) road trip back to Toliara after a month long reconnaissance mission in northern Madagascar. We’ve been...

/ Mar 6, 2012

Mapping the octopus: road tripping south of Toliara

by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar On a recent trip to the south of Toliara I seem to have confirmed the stupidity of domestic livestock. Drive past a herd of grazing zebu and they may look up with a...

/ Mar 5, 2012

2012: the year of the sea cucumber

by Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Project Coordinator, Madagascar With a growing cycle of 8 to 12 months, Holothuria scabra or sea cucumber farming requires of those involved willingness and much patience until they can finally reap the fruits of their labour....

/ Mar 1, 2012

Rediscovering Malagasy wildlife

by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar I have become a city girl again. My move to Toliara, the capital of the southwest region after two years in Andavadoaka, a small fishing village has dramatically reduced my exposure to nature...

/ Feb 29, 2012

Girl power: the role of Ghana’s fishmongering women

By Mebrahtu Ateweberhan, Ghanaian Research Team, 21st Febuary 2012 It is early morning in Miemia Village, Western Ghana. The sky is hazy from the dust of the recent revisit by the Harmattan winds that mingles with the smoke coming from...

/ Feb 29, 2012

The path to sustainability for developing world fisheries…

by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar On February 13th 2012 I attended a conference organised by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to discuss issues faced by developing world fisheries when it comes to eco-label certification. The MSC logo, the...

/ Feb 21, 2012

Having fun at the Club Aloalo Environmental Festival

by Jeremy Pivor, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar Last Saturday (4th Feb) I had the fortunate opportunity to go to a festival put on by kids from Club Aloalo. For those that don’t know, Club Aloalo is an environmental youth club...

/ Feb 14, 2012

Sustainably developing the environment? Oxfam says it’s possible

by Jo Hudson, Science Intern, London Often it seems that poverty reduction and environmentalism are at loggerheads – as one is in direct competition with the other, often for space, funding and support. But a new report by Oxfam, published...

/ Feb 14, 2012

Different fish, same problems…

by Charlie Gough, Marine Research Coordinator, Madagascar& Ghana What makes two communities that live over 5000km apart and different oceans struggle daily with the same problems? When you know that both communities live in coastal villages where the population doubles every 20...

/ Feb 3, 2012

Weathering the storm

by Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Madagascar Although located hundreds of miles away in the Mozambique Channel, villages within the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) felt the effects of cyclone Funso’s outer edges last week. A recent report estimated...

/ Feb 1, 2012

Record numbers of critically endangered tortoise counted by Blue Ventures

by Shanta Barley, Field Scientist, Madagascar When Ryan Walker, a biologist based at the Open University, and his team crawled on their hands and knees through 60 kilometres of clothes-shredding, hair-plucking spiny forest between Toliara and the Mangoky River, racking...

/ Feb 1, 2012

One coffee and a warty chameleon, coming right up!

by Shanta Barley, Field Scientist, Madagascar With 57 of the world’s 131 species of chameleon, including the largest and the smallest, Madagascar has a monopoly on the family’s diversity. This unusual individual (see photo, below) was spotted clinging to a...

/ Jan 30, 2012