Blue Forests

Blue Ventures’ Digital Media Assistant Ben Honey recently visited Ankingabe village to find out about the community-led beekeeping and fuelwood plantations. Read the full post: Bees and trees: alternative livelihoods in Ankingabe

New research published in the international journal ‘Forests’ reveals for the first time the carbon storage potential of mangroves in the arid region of southwest Madagascar, and also highlights the pressure that these important local resources are under. Focused on the mangroves of Helondrano Fagnemotse (Baie des Assassins) in the Velondriake locally-managed marine area (LMMA), ...

In this photo story, Earth Island Journal explains the concept of blue carbon and the issues that surround it, using case studies of conservation organisations alongside stunning imagery. Blue Ventures, a charity headquartered in London, is experimenting with carbon credits at two sites in Madagascar. To compensate for the income these communities may lose due ...

This thoughtful article focuses on the mangrove forests in Madagascar’s Bay of Assassins, and interviews our Blue Forests Coordinator, Lalao Aigrette. Subsistence communities in the Bay of Assassins rely on the mangroves for food, fuel, building materials and erosion control, but overexploitation of these resources will result in a future where none of these services are fulfilled. ...

Madagascar is one of the most mangrove-rich countries in the world, but we know almost nothing about the importance of these forests to terrestrial wildlife. Wildlife of the Mangroves exhibits new research from the Blue Forests team that has revealed the incredible richness of Madagascar’s mangrove birds and lemurs.  

Our Executive Director Alasdair Harris was interviewed by The Daily Star in their article about the Sundarbans, a mangrove forest in Bangladesh. Speaking about the decision recently made by Bangladeshi and Indian authorities to build a vast coal fired power station in close proximity to the Sundarbans, Alasdair Harris said: "While Bangladesh has an urgent need ...

Recent research by Dr Charlie Gardner is covered in the Mongabay article 'In search of Madagascar’s “marine primates'.

New research by Blue Ventures' Scientific Advisor Dr Charlie Gardner is discussed in The Conversation: Madagascar’s ‘swamp lemurs’ have been documented for the first time

Madagascar’s mangroves, so vital for maintaining fisheries and storing carbon, may also be much more important than we thought for conserving the country’s lemurs Madagascar is considered by many to be the world’s top conservation priority, since so many of its native plants and animals exist nowhere else on Earth. Most wildlife conservation efforts are ...

This week sees both International Forests Day and World Water Day - what better way to explore the intertwined nature of the two than celebrating mangroves - incredible areas where the forest meets the sea. This year we’re reflecting on the progress made by communities in the Bay of Assassins, Madagascar, who are leading the way ...