Inclusive conservation of sea turtles and seagrass habitats in the north and north-west of Madagascar

Objectives

To adopt integrated approaches for inclusive conservation of sea turtles and seagrasses and the sustainable management of their habitats in North-West Madagascar.

Other

Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency.

Target Groups

The project is designed to provide direct socio-economic benefits to at least 13,000 local people (at least 30% women) in the target communities living in the project sites - Nosy Hara National Park, Sahamalaza National Park, Ankarea MPA, Ankivonjy MPA, and Bobaomby and Analalava areas - through the involvement of local communities in Bobaomby and Analalava MPA/LMMA establishment and operationalization (assisting local communities in obtaining land tenure titles; development/renewal of co-management agreements, and providing conditions for employment of up to 200 Marine Community Rangers (Outputs 2.1); capacity building for COSAPS, Marine Community Rangers, and OMCs of existing MPAs (Nosy Hara National Park, Sahamalaza National Park, Ankarea MPA, Ankivonjy MPA) on protection and sustainbale management of sea turtle, seagrass, and other marine resources (Output 2.2); development and implementation of a Blue Carbon project on community-based conservation of mangroves and seagrass that expected to provide local people with sustainbale income from selling of blue carbon credits (Output 3.1, direct investment of $400,000); development and implementation of pilot CBNRM and alternative livelihood projects (Outputs 3.1) with direct investments of $408,000 to local communities in the form of Low Value Grants. The projected increase of revenue of local communities resulting from the implementation of the Blue Carbon, CBNRM and alternative livelihood pilot projects (Output 3.1) can be estimated in 50-100%[1]. At the same time, the project is expected to decrease economic losses from sea turtle poaching and trade, degradation of seagrass beds, mangroves and other marine habitats in the project area by 50-100% during its lifetime via the increased law enforcement and effective MPA co-management (Outputs 2.1-2.3). That will provide additional benefits to local communities increasing their environmental sustainability and ability to adapt to climate change. [1] Based on the experience of Blue Ventures, SEED Madagascar, FAO and other successful sustainable livelihood programmes in Madagascar and other African countries.