1. Marine Conservation Activities in Madagascar Harifidy Ralison January 2008

2. 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

3. Southern Toliara MPA The programme intervention areas Near Toliara: Ranobe and Onilahy Northern Morondava Maintirano and Iles Barren Archipelago Nosy Hara Archipelago Northern Toliara: Salary Bay

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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).

8. 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

9. Constraints and Perspectives Site access difficult Site access difficult Need to change the communities’ mentality instead of implementing project activities Need to change the communities’ mentality instead of implementing project activities Marine skill rarely available Marine skill rarely available Lack of coordination of projects/ interventions Lack of coordination of projects/ interventions Lack of data collection norms and data management Lack of data collection norms and data management

10. Thank you for your attention