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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. Most people rely on the land to make a living, and agriculture is the main source of income. We believe that in order to protect the environment, we must also consider the people who depend on its finite resources. We therefore work hand in hand with communities to provide them with the knowledge and skills to protect their environment. Through these projects we also aim to improve the quality of life in these rural communities; we achieve this by promoting improved farming and agriculture techniques and encouraging alternative sources of income. As well as providing a more secure and sustainable future, this approach also helps by reducing the damage which current practices cause to biodiversity and forests.

Sifaka Project:

improving the livelihoods of local people

Location:

MADIROMIRAFY (MAEVATANANA)

ANKIRIHITRA (AMBATOBOENY)

MAHAJEBY (TSIRONOMANDIDY)

We believe that the support of the local community is vital to ensuring that conservation measures are sustainable. To achieve this we work alongside local people at all stages of project development and implementation, with an eye towards the future.

At each of our conservation sites, we have established local management committees. These committees help to manage the forests; patrols are run by local people to monitor threats such as illegal logging and poaching, simultaneously engaging local people in the protection of their forests. We have also helped to establish a forest restoration programme; this aims not only to improve habitat quality for forest-dependent animals, through the planting of native forest species, but also helps to meet the needs of local people for timber and charcoal production, through the planting of fast-growing species. To maintain support for this project at a local level, we host yearly tree planting programmes, and at present we have more than 10,000 saplings at each site.

In addition, to help improve living conditions of the population in conservation areas, we have set up a community project that aims to promote income-generating activities within these communities. We have already conducted a number of studies, and spoken with local communities, and it is clear that reliance upon traditional farming methods is resulting in very low productivity. In order to increase farming yield, we plan to offer lessons and training in the use of modern farming techniques and improved breeding programmes, as well as promote other alternative sources of income. In addition, we also encourage the production and sale of local produce so as to boost income within communities.

Bamboo lemur project

livelihood alternatives to reduce bamboo forest clearing

(More information on this project is coming soon!)

Explore Our other Projects