25 Years: 25 successes

We have listed 25 of our achievements in saving species, protecting habitats and supporting local communities.

1. We are one of the longest existing NGO’s in Madagascar. We know that only long-term commitment will achieve lasting conservation goals. 

2. We started a captive breeding programme for one of the world’s rarest tortoise, the ploughshare tortoise. Having bred over 400 we are now reintroducing the species and have so far released 45 tortoises back into the wild. This is one of the first tortoise reintroductions in the world.

3. We are breeding the side-necked turtle at our breeding centre in Ampijoroa, one of the only places in the world to breed the species. This is one of the most threatened turtles in the world and has proved very difficult to breed in captivity.

4. Only last year, together with our international partners, we doubled the population of the world’s rarest duck, the Madagascar pochard. There are now 51 pochards in existence on the planet. We were once again on the “cutting edge” of conservation, with the egg collection and husbandry of one of the rarest animals on the planet.

5. We have pioneered the use of participatory ecological monitoring – a tool whereby local village members lead the monitoring of threats to their forests and are closely involved in deciding how to manage these threats.

6. We pioneered novel ways of community conservation through the use of festivals and environmental competitions as a tool to stimulate villages to protect their environments. Independent studies have shown these to be an effective tool to motivate communities.

7. Four areas at Menabe-Antimena, Nosivolo, Ambondrobe and Alaotra, all now have Temporary Protected Area status due in large part to Durrell’s work at these sites. All four will eventually become full Protected Areas in 2011 and 2012.

8. At our headquarters in Jersey we established safety-net populations for 10 endangered species from Madagascar: the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, aye-aye, giant jumping rat, narrow-striped mongoose, radiated tortoise, flat-tailed tortoise, Meller’s duck, Madagascar teal, black-and white ruffed lemur, and red ruffed lemur.

9. We and the local communities worked to create the Baly Bay National Park. Established in 1998 it focuses around the ploughshare tortoise and is one of the only single species protected areas in the country.

10. We have stabilised the population of side-necked turtles in Ankarafantsika National Park through a programme community engagement and ‘turtle head-starting’ – a technique where young turtles are brought into captivity and raised until they have a good chance of surviving in the wild. Local villagers now protect and monitor the lakes and turtle nests in the park.

11. Durrell has prioritised wetland conservation in Madagascar. We supported Madagascar to join the Ramsar Convention and have been directly involved in the designation of four of the country’s seven Ramsar Sites (wetlands of global importance) at Lake Alaotra, Manambolomaty, Lake Bedo and, in 2010, for the Nosivolo River.

12. Lac Alaotra gentle lemurs are the priority species in the reedbeds of Lac Alaotra. This is the one of the only primate in the world that relies on a wetland habitat. Threatened by habitat loss and hunting, we are protecting their marsh habitat and supporting local communities to develop alternative lifestyles and promotion of the lake and marshes as an official Protected Area.

13. Our field team discovered a species of carnivore which has been named, Durrell’s vontsira, a mongoose-like mammal that lives in the reedbeds of Lake Alaotra.

14. Working with our partner Conservation International, we have improved the condition of the Nosivolo river through improving local people’s quality of life (health, education, alternative livelihoods) to reduce the impact of human activity on the Nosivolo. The Nosivolo River is the most important river in Madagascar, with 19 species of native fish, 4 of which are found only in the Nosivolo.

15. Over the years we have pioneered the restoration of local conservation traditions by supporting local culture and beliefs and partnerships with both local and elected leaders and managers to develop appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies.

16. Durrell is the first conservation organisation in Madagascar to develop a programme of local community monitoring (CFL or Controleurs Foret Locaux), employing local people to collect information on biodiversity while at the same time monitoring human activity within the forest.

17. Our work with communities in Baly Bay has led to a significant reduction in bush fires, which was one of the main threats to ploughshare tortoises. We did this through the use of firebreaks; a solution suggested and implemented by the local communities of Baly Bay.

18. Our grassroots development projects have reached over 50,000 people in 70 communities within our field sites. We have provided support for wells, primary education, sanitation and health.

19. Our community projects have led to the creation of 295 Community Associations, which allow people in the village to have a voice in the management of their natural resources. We have provided regular training to support the associations deliver these tasks.

20. Durrell was the first zoological institution to breed the aye-aye, giant jumping rat, Madagascar teal and narrow-striped mongoose in captivity.

21. In the Menabe forest our detailed work on the giant jumping rat has shown that there was a real increase in the numbers of jumping rats over a 5 year period, compared to the catastrophic decline the species was undergoing when we began our work in the late 1990’s. Their core range is now included within the centre of the Menabe-Antimena protected area.

22. We discovered the first ever nests of the elusive Madagascar teal in 1987, and have since studied its bizarre ecology as it’s a duck that specialises in mangroves and annually migrates up and down the west coast of Madagascar. We are supporting local communities in two 2 mangrove zones to sustainably manage their mangroves and likewise conserve the teal.

23. Our work with the flat-tailed tortoise in Menabe stopped trafficking in the species and stabilised the population in the wild. We are the only institution to breed them and have produced over 70 offspring. We will now reintroduce our remaining captive bred animals back to their native habitat.

24. Durrell has supported 25 Malagasy students to receive degrees in conservation related disciplines in Madagascar at the Honour’s, MSc. and PhD. Levels and 15 Malagasy students have taken part in courses held at our International Training Centre in Jersey.

25. What will be the next success for Durrell's Madagascar programme in 2011?