From left to the right Oliver Sommer (Germany); Sahala SOAODA (Madagascar) and me
The marine and coastal ecosystems of Madagascar are
rich in biodiversity and this biodiversity is increasingly threatened by
climate change and anthropological impacts. Close interactions exist between
coral reef systems, sea grass beds, mangrove forests and coastal forests.
Therefore, it is important to focus attention not only on one ecosystem type,
but rather to analyse the vulnerability of all ecosystems involved. The
objective of WWF Project MG200901 is to analyse these vulnerabilities and the
adaptation to climate change. The September 2013 WWF Explore Volunteer program
focussed on the mangrove ecosystem in the bay of Ambaro, situated on the
northwest coast of Madagascar, DIANA region. There was two groups of three volunteers
based in the villages of Ankazomborona (Tatiana SAADE from Lebanon, Guilaume Lippinois from Belgium and Michael Murunga from Kenya) and Antsatrana (the
group on the picture).
Activity goals given by WWF
a. First
activity: Fishery Catch Monitoring
Objective: support the WWF intern to collect data on fishery
Activities: Assist the intern in collecting statistical evidence
on species type, weight, number per species, length of each specimen, etc.
b. Second
activity: Re-enforcement of women associations’ capacitiesObjective: support and mentoring women groups
Activities: Teach and practice English and French
Give cooking lessons
Raise awareness on hygiene and waste treatment
Develop family vegetable gardens
c. Third activity: Environmental education on mangroves
Objective: Educate the village population on the importance of
mangroves by using different types of communication and visual support
Activities: Establish or
bring along teaching material like films, posters, songs, etc.
Organize a public event every two weeks
(film projection, theatre, songs, etc.), in order to explain the ecological importance
of mangroves and the anthropological threats for this ecosystem
Fishery Catch Monitoring
We worked with
WWF Intern Felix Saidale from
Madagascar. We learn the Malagasy name of local fish, different kind of fish
who live in the channel and the sea. We met also some fishers, with them we
talked about how they fish, what they fish and their difficulties. In fact our
work consisted to weight what the fishermen brought from the sea, and to
measure some of them.
Me weighing shrimps (Photo
by Oliver SOMMER)
Re-enforcement of women associations’ capacities
The women association were divided in two different
associations; the first was for old women and the second for young women. The
main goal of this activity was to educate and support members of the women’s
associations in order to develop alternative income resources. Suggested
activities included language courses, cooking lessons, and hygiene and waste
treatment awareness-raising and establishing vegetable gardens.
We had language classes every Wednesday and Friday at
3 pm, for about one to two hours, depending on the punctuality and
concentration of the students.
Language course with women at the Primary school of
the village (WWF canon/Walter TAPONDJOU)
We did a cooking class where we showed a possibility
of international cooking with ingredients one can buy in Antsatrana. The recipe
was Empanadas Argentina’s, where the filling can be chosen to be any filling
with meat, seafood or vegetables they are already familiar with.
Volunteer Oliver giving cooking lesson (Empanadas from
Argentina) (WWF Canon/Walter Tapondjou)
On the other hand, in the course of a ROSEDA project,
a WWF partner organization, beneficiaries amongst women were chosen to obtain
equipment for establishing a new vegetable patch.
Volunteer Sahala helping a woman with her garden (Photo by Oliver SOMMER)
Environmental education on mangroves
The principal objective of this activity was to
educate the population on the importance of the mangroves surrounding them.
The villagers do not use their resources on a large
commercial scale, but rather only for local commercial or private usage.
However, they generally lack the comprehension for the larger picture, such as
the impact of trash in coastal and marine ecosystems as well as secondary
problems, such as erosion caused by deforestation. Also, general notions of
ecosystem, climate, food chain, etc. were mostly unknown. We attempted to close
these gaps and educate the population. At the same time we raised awareness on
hygiene and the use of basic composting toilets, the sorting and treatment of
trash and a sustainable use of natural resources. The overall environmental
situation in and around the village of Antsatrana, however, was not too bad.
Public environmental education (WWF Canon)
Mangrove course for college children (WWF Canon)
Environmental
education for primary school (WWF Canon)
We organized and carried out an environmental
education session in Bengolo. This is a village near Antsatrana, it is only
accessible by foot during periods of neap tides and is located right on the
sea. During a visit to this village we made contact with the sage of the
village and scheduled a session. Due to its extreme proximity to the sea and
its accessibility only outside spring tide periods, this village is another
fisher community like Antsatrana and Ankazomborona.
In this village it is not possible to set up basic
composting toilets due to the tide levels. There is also a huge problem of
batteries that are tossed around in the village and even in the ocean, and
finally piles of garbage near homes and the entrance to the village. During
this session we showed them our film Rakoto I: Garbage. Then we presented an
awareness session on Climate Change (causes and consequences) and how to
straighten the bar. We also distributed leaflets about sorting waste to the
women. At the end of the session the villagers had some questions such as how
to have access to safe drinking water like their neighbours in Antsatrana. And
we encouraged them firstly to create an association and then to approach the
one from Antsatrana to be informed on how to receive support for their
development.
