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Madagascar 25
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Madagascar25
We are celebrating 25 years of saving species and supporting communities to manage natural resources sustainably in Madagascar.
Madagascar is the heart of Durrell’s conservation programme; it is an island with unique, wondrous and sometimes bizarre species of animal and plant. But Madagascar is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Most of the population rely on the natural world for survival and the iconic species have become restricted to tiny remaining patches of habitat.
We have dedicated the last 25 years to saving some of Madagascar’s iconic species, such as the ploughshare tortoise, and working with local communities to find ways of protecting the natural resources on which they rely... Read more »
In feature
Celebrations
Celebrating 25 years in Madagascar by Lee Durrell - 2011 was the 25th anniversary year of the Trust’s conservation work in Madagascar. I helped develop the recovery programmes for the angonoka (ploughshare tortoise) and other species from 1986 to 2002 and eventually became known in Madagascar as “Dady Angonoky”, which means Grandmother Tortoise. Thus when I was asked to visit Madagascar in November to participate in the silver anniversary celebrations, I was as delighted as any old granny would be!
25 Years: 25 successes
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1. We are one of the longest existing NGO’s in Madagascar. We know that only long-term commitment will achieve lasting conservation goals.
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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 reintroducin...
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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 t...
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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 ...
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5. We have pioneered the use of participatory ecological monitoring – a tool whereby local village members lead the monitoring of threats to their forest...
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6. We pioneered novel ways of community conservation through the use of festivals and environmental competitions as a tool to stimulate villages to prote...
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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 t...
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8. At our headquarters in Jersey we established safety-net populations for 10 endangered species from Madagascar: the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, aye-aye, ...
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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...
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10. We have stabilised the population of side-necked turtles in Ankarafantsika National Park through a programme community engagement and ‘turtle head-sta...
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11. Durrell has prioritised wetland conservation in Madagascar. We supported Madagascar to join the Ramsar Convention and have been directly involved in t...
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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 w...
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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 A...
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14. Working with our partner Conservation International, we have improved the condition of the Nosivolo river through improving local people’s quality of ...
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15. Over the years we have pioneered the restoration of local conservation traditions by supporting local culture and beliefs and partnerships with both l...
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16. Durrell is the first conservation organisation in Madagascar to develop a programme of local community monitoring (CFL or Controleurs Foret Locaux), e...
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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...
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18. Our grassroots development projects have reached over 50,000 people in 70 communities within our field sites. We have provided support for wells, prim...
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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 ...
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20. Durrell was the first zoological institution to breed the aye-aye, giant jumping rat, Madagascar teal and narrow-striped mongoose in captivity.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 institu...
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24. Durrell has supported 25 Malagasy students to receive degrees in conservation related disciplines in Madagascar at the Honour’s, MSc. and PhD. Levels ...
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25. What will be the next success for Durrell's Madagascar programme in 2011?
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