In the Media

In an article for Chatham House, an international affairs think tank, Mialy Andriamahefazafy writes of the resilience of the people of Madagascar and in particular, the communities that are driving locally led conservation efforts. Mialy is a Blue Ventures board member and longstanding advisor. In the piece, she discusses the challenges the country faces in ...

In a recent article for China Dialogue, environmental journalist Catherine Early discusses the global plans to protect more of the Earth with protected areas and explores whether there should be a focus on quality over quantity.  After sharing a number of examples of existing protected areas and their varying successes, Catherine emphasises the need for ...

Blue Ventures’ Executive Director, Alasdair Harris featured in the latest TED Radio Hour podcast episode, ‘An SOS From the Ocean’. The episode also features leading ocean conservation figures including Asha de Vos, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Sylvia Earle.  Alasdair tells the story of how Blue Ventures began in Madagascar – by listening to the needs ...

For WIOMSA’s June newsbrief, Jean Berthieu Nomenjanahary shares the story of community-led temporary fisheries closures in Madagascar’s Barren Isles. Since 2018, communities here established their first temporary octopus fishery closure and now, three years on, there is a growing network of temporary closures across the archipelago. Jean is a Fisheries Technician at Blue Ventures who ...

In a blog for International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Blue Ventures’ Regional Manager for southwest Madagascar, Gilde Tahindraza describes the journey of the Velondriake locally managed marine area (LMMA), the first of its kind in Madagascar. In 2006, coastal communities in this region created the LMMA with support from Blue Ventures, to rebuild ...

In an interview for Smithsonian Magazine, Vatosoa Rakotondrazafy of MIHARI, Madagascar’s locally managed marine area (LMMA) network, shares insights of working in community-led marine conservation in the country. MIHARI is a partner of Blue Ventures, and as Vatosoa explains in the article, it is currently supporting over 200 locally led LMMA associations and more than ...

A new article from BBC travel explores the life of small-scale fishers and coastal communities on Atauro Island, Timor-Leste (also called East Timor). Timor-Leste has some of the most significant marine resources in the world. Local communities are using traditional Timorese resource management laws, known as Tara Bandu, to preserve and protect their ecosystems. Community ...

As an Ashoka Fellow, Blue Ventures’ Executive Director Alasdair Harris recently contributed to Ashoka’s new report, ‘Thinking differently: ideas for action on planet & climate’. The report draws together insights from Ashoka Fellows working in environmental and climate innovation, identifying patterns between their diverse approaches.  Featuring more than 20 in-depth interviews, the report points to ...

In Ambanja, northwest Madagascar, communities are protecting their mangrove forests by producing an alternative and sustainable source of charcoal – brown salwood trees (known as Acacia mangium). In the area, mangroves are illegally and unsustainably cut to produce charcoal, mainly used for cooking. Hanjara Rabemanantsoa, Blue Ventures’ mangroves coordinator in Tsimipaika Bay, shares the journey ...

In a blog co-authored by Heather D’Agnes, Senior Programme Officer of the Environment Programme at the Walton Family Foundation and Roosa Sibarani, Outreach Programmes Manager at Blue Ventures, readers have the opportunity to learn about the role of women in Indonesia’s artisanal fisheries.  On Darawa Island, where Blue Ventures’ partner organisation FORKANI support the community ...