Catalyzing Madagascar’s Community Marine Conservation Movement

Although globally known primarily for its unique terrestrial wildlife, Madagascar also has some of the richest marine biodiversity along its nearly 5,000 km of Indian Ocean coastline. The island nation’s coastal communities, many with extremely high levels of poverty and limited social infrastructure, depend heavily on fisheries and other marine resources for their livelihoods. In order to simultaneously restore depleted fisheries and improve local welfare, over the past 15 years Madagascar has witnessed the emergence of many Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) that seek to improve local control and conservation of near-shore fisheries and reefs. More than 200 LMMAs now exist, covering over 17% of the country’s coastline, and helping improve the management of fisheries while safeguarding marine biodiversity on a growing scale.

MIHARI is a national network that supports these diverse and emerging community marine areas, working with local groups, NGOs and government partners to support LMMA communities. MIHARI catalyzes and helps anchor the national LMMA movement by facilitating networking, sharing best practices between communities, building local leadership, and amplifying the voices of fishers to make sure their message is heard by policymakers. As MIHARI grows, the organization is also working to develop systems for both monitoring and communicating the progress of LMMAs across Madagascar.

Fisheries are not only providing an essential source of food for the communities that live along Madagascar’s coastline, but also the primary livelihood of many community members. Ensuring the stability of those fisheries is essential for the future prosperity of coastal communities. Maliasili is partnering with MIHARI to strengthen the organization’s strategic plan and to provide ongoing organizational support to this key emerging national network.