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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...