Transcript Marine Conservation Activities in Madagascar

Marine Conservation Activities in Madagascar
Harifidy Ralison
January 2008
Objectives:
To develop and implement strategies to conserve the marine and
coastal biodiversity of Madagascar in coherence with the global
priorities of WWF, the regional and national priorities
- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) establishment
- Sustainable fisheries
- Species
- Certification
The programme intervention areas
Nosy Hara Archipelago
Maintirano and Iles Barren Archipelago
Northern Morondava
Northern Toliara: Salary Bay
Near Toliara: Ranobe and Onilahy
Southern Toliara MPA
Main Activities
 Creating and/or make operational MPAs in cooperation with
governmental organizations and partners
 Establishing sustainable traditional fisheries management system and
mechanisms
 Developing standards for shrimp farms
 Contributing to marine turtles conservation actions
 Developing tools, strategies and policies for an effective conservation
of marine ecosystems (MPAs, climate change, fisheries)
Main Achievements
 Strong buy-in of all actors for setting up the Nosy Hara MPA and the
coming out of the temporary protection status
 Significant start-up of the creation process for the southern Toliara MPA
 Availability of marine and socio-economic data crucial for elaborating
the MPA feasibility document and prioritizing conservation zones
 Effective implementation of the project supporting traditional fishermen
communities in the southern Toliara MPA area
 Effective support to a marine turtle conservation project in Maintirano
Achievements and Impacts
 Launching of the shrimp certification programme and the climate
change vulnerability assessment
 Effective field activities implementation for many projects leading to
awareness raised for local communities
 Partners are feeling considerable support from WWF
 New projects identified leading to intense fundraising
 Promotion through the media placing WWF in the marine and coastal
conservation domain in Madagascar
Nosy Hara Archipelago Ecological status
 17 karstic islets some of which are traditionally taboo
 Karstic islands very characteristic (“Tsingy”) bearing highly endemic
fauna and flora
 Historical and cultural for the Antakarana people: hide from highlands
warriors, royal tombs
 Ornithologic worldwide importance and regional importance for sea
turtles
 ‘No-man’s land’ so potentially in danger in terms of abusive resource
exploitation
 Extraordinary beauty of underwater seascape
 Abundance of marine resources (corals, fishes, sea cucumbers,
sharks).
Southern Toliara Ecological status
• Influence of the South Equatorial Current – The south branch of East
Madagascar Current (EMC) going around Cap Ste Marie
• Cold currents rich in nutrients from south infleunce this combined with
complex and variable regime of the Mozambica channel
• An enrichment zone associated with the submarine canyon of St
Augustin
• Very narrow continental shelf - Grand Récif de Toliara some km only
from continental slope (big pelagic fish on reef slope)
• Large wavelength of the quasi-permanent southwest current and
important tide (2-3 m) – reef development highly marked characterized by
a large external slope
Constraints and Perspectives
• Site access difficult
• Need to change the communities’ mentality instead of implementing
project activities
• Marine skill rarely available
• Lack of coordination of projects/ interventions
• Lack of data collection norms and data management
Thank you for your
attention