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« MIHARI permet aux communautés de parler d’une seule voix » Bienvenu TSIVOZAHY sur le passé, le présent et l’avenir du réseau des LMMA de Madagascar

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En 2006, des communautés du sud-ouest de Madagascar unissaient leurs forces pour créer la première LMMA (Lamina enti-Mitantana ny Morintsiraka sy Andranomasina ou Locally Managed Marine Area) du pays, une solution communautaire au déclin de la biodiversité marine. Bien vite, d’autres LMMA ont essaimé le long des côtes et, en 2012, les communautés LMMA se sont rassemblées dans un réseau pour partager leurs expériences et leurs connaissances, et pour défendre leurs droits à gérer les ressources côtières.

Les communautés LMMA ont appelé leur réseau « MIHARI », un acronyme pour MItantana Harena et Ranomasina avy eny Ifotony, qui signifie « gestion locale des ressources marines » en malagasy. 

Aujourd’hui, MIHARI réunit les communautés gestionnaires de presque 300 LMMA et 25 organisations d’appui. Le réseau est devenu une entité locale totalement indépendante et Blue Ventures, incubateur puis soutien fidèle de MIHARI, est devenu l’un de ses partenaires techniques et financiers.

Pour célébrer l’entrée du MIHARI dans une nouvelle décennie en tant que réseau totalement indépendant, nous avons écouté BIenvenu TSIVOZAHY, le tout nouveau Secrétaire exécutif du réseau. Issu d’une famille de pêcheurs traditionnels du sud-ouest de Madagascar, parlant la plupart des dialectes du pays, Bienvenu est un spécialiste du développement organisationnel et du plaidoyer.

Blue Ventures : Pourriez-vous nous raconter votre histoire avec MIHARI ?

BIenvenu TSIVOZAHY : J’ai grandi dans une famille de petits pêcheurs à Saint-Augustin, au sud-ouest de Madagascar, au bord du canal du Mozambique et du grand fleuve Onilaye qui passe le long du Tropique du Capricorne. Toute notre vie était liée à la mer et au fleuve. Dès l’école et jusqu’au bac, mes parents ont attendu de moi que j’achète mes fournitures scolaires avec l’argent que je gagnais de ma propre pêche. Depuis cette époque, mon cœur est resté celui d’un pêcheur.

En 2017, il s’est passé quelque chose d’extrêmement fort : les représentants de toutes les communautés LMMA à travers le pays se sont rassemblés lors d’un forum national de MIHARI, et ensemble, ils ont décidé de focaliser leurs efforts pour obtenir de l’Etat trois choses essentielles : la reconnaissance officielle de leur droit coutumier (Dina) pour gérer leurs ressources côtières de manière durable ; une régulation des engins de pêche à l’échelle nationale pour préserver les pêcheries ; et enfin, une zone de pêche exclusive pour les petits pêcheurs sur la bande littorale. C’était vraiment un moment fort, un point de départ pour mener le combat.

A l’époque, j’étais directeur exécutif de Transparency International – Initiative Madagascar, où je supervisais une trentaine de dossiers de plaidoyer. J’ai aussitôt proposé à l’équipe de MIHARI de les aider à développer leur stratégie de plaidoyer : j’avais toute l’expérience et la passion requises ! Par la suite, je suis resté en contact avec plusieurs présidents de LMMA.

BV : Qu’est-ce qui vous impressionne le plus dans ce que le réseau MIHARI a accompli jusqu’ici ?

Les communautés LMMA vivent éloignées les unes des autres, et parlent des dialectes différents. Mais MIHARI a permis qu’elles parlent d’une seule voix. Le réseau a rendu possible les échanges d’apprentissages entre pairs, et la mise en réseau des communautés LMMA avec les associations locales, plateformes, entreprises sociales et ONG qui travaillent pour une gestion durable des ressources marines à Madagascar. Tout cela a permis au réseau de prendre son envol et de participer au dialogue national.

Il y a deux ans, le Président de MIHARI a dénoncé publiquement l’intrusion de grands navires de pêche industriels trop près des côtes, dans les zones traditionnelles d’activité des petits pêcheurs, et le manque de transparence autour du déploiement des flottes de pêche dans le canal du Mozambique. Beaucoup de gens de mon village m’avaient raconté ces intrusions. Mais jusque-là, les petits pêcheurs n’avaient pas osé s’en plaindre trop ouvertement. Cette fois, la presse a repris l’information. Le gouvernement a pris la dénonciation de MIHARI au sérieux. Pour la première fois, le réseau a vraiment pesé dans le débat public. On a commencé à parler plus largement des autres doléances des communautés LMMA, et aussi de la Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) pour Madagascar, dans laquelle mon pays s’est engagé par la suite, en 2021.

BV : Qu’est-ce qui motive le travail de MIHARI ?

BT : La subsistance des communautés côtières malagasy est en jeu. Il y a de moins en moins de poissons. Pour les petits pêcheurs, il ne fait aucun doute que ce déclin est lié aux pratiques destructives de la pêche illégale, non régulée et non réglementée pratiquée par des navires de pêche industrielle, et par les migrants climatiques. Sans ressources face à la sécheresse, des cultivateurs se déplacent vers les côtes et se lancent dans la pêche mais, faute d’expérience, ils détruisent parfois des habitats marins et font peser une pression trop forte sur les populations de poissons.

Je connais beaucoup de pêcheurs traditionnels qui se retrouvent contraints de partir pêcher très loin pendant deux ou trois mois, là où il y a davantage de poissons mais où ils connaissent moins les zones de pêche, au risque de pêcher eux aussi de façon moins durable. D’autres, pour subvenir aux besoins de leur famille, sont tentés de se tourner vers l’exploitation illégale des arbres des mangroves pour faire du charbon de bois et du bois énergie. Les communautés LMMA sont conscientes de ces pressions accrues sur les écosystèmes, même dans les aires protégées.

BV : A l’issue d’une vaste consultation des membres de MIHARI et d’enquêtes sur le terrain jusqu’aux zones côtières les plus reculées, le réseau a défini sa stratégie et sa vision pour 2026 : défendre les droits des communautés LMMA, renforcer la solidarité entre les membres, promouvoir des filières économiques durables, restaurer et préserver les écosystèmes marins et renforcer les capacités…

BT : Je suis fier que MIHARI ait développé ce plan stratégique, qui a été conçu de façon concertée et collective. Ses objectifs sont à la fois ambitieux et atteignables. C’est un véritable outil, comme un GPS qui va guider chacune de nos actions.

Nous avons beaucoup à faire. Obtenir la reconnaissance légale des LMMA, essentielle pour légitimer et consolider la gestion durable des ressources marines par les communautés. Encourager la mise à l’échelle d’investissements communautaires et d’activités économiques accessibles qui ne reposent pas sur l’extraction des ressources marines et côtières. Améliorer la santé des écosystèmes gérés par les communautés LMMA, en restaurant la biodiversité marine et les zones dégradées. Mieux connecter toutes les données des LMMA et développer une base de données accessible à tous qui facilitera la gestion adaptative des LMMA et la défense de leurs droits.

Les défis sont grands, mais j’ai grand espoir aussi. La démarche d’adhésion de Madagascar à la Fisheries Transparency Initiative s’est accompagnée d’actions concrètes au niveau de l’Etat et d’une bien meilleure concertation avec les membres de la société civile. Le réseau MIHARI est appelé à bientôt couvrir toutes les régions côtières du pays, et à gagner en puissance pour défendre les droits des communautés LMMA et le respect de la loi. Et notre Fisherwomen Leadership Programme a lancé la dynamique d’inclusion des femmes dans la gestion des LMMA dont nous avons besoin.

Je me suis engagé depuis des années avec les organisations de la société civile pour obtenir des changements nécessaires face aux injustices. Je suis conscient des menaces qui pèsent sur la subsistance de ma famille et de l’ensemble des petits pêcheurs malagasy. Aujourd’hui, je ne pourrai pas être plus heureux et honoré de servir le réseau des communautés LMMA.

 

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Thailand

Thailand’s small-scale fisheries are the cornerstone of social, economic and nutritional health for the communities living along the majority of the country’s nearly 3,000 kilometre coastline.
In the southernmost Trang province we are supporting communities reliant on nearshore fisheries − in particular for crab, shrimp and squid − in partnership with the Save Andaman Network (SAN).

We’re providing training and tools to aid organisational development, community led fisheries monitoring and management, and building community-owned social enterprises that fund and sustain local conservation efforts.

Timor-Leste

Since 2016, our work in Timor-Leste has evolved into a dynamic movement supporting community led marine management and coastal livelihood diversification in Asia’s newest country. From our origins on Atauro Island, considered to harbour amongst the highest levels of marine biodiversity on earth, we’re now working with numerous communities on the island and the mainland to ensure that local communities have access to diverse sustainable livelihood options to relieve fishing pressure on critical coral reefs and seagrass ecosystems.

We’re engaging communities in monitoring the relatively unexplored marine biodiversity of Timor-Leste, and managing local marine resources through customary local laws known as Tara Bandu. Alongside our community conservation efforts, we have pioneered Timor-Leste’s first homestay association, which now provides a consistent income from visiting ecotourists and sparked interest in replication by a mainland community. Using homestays as a hub, communities are well placed to host learning exchanges, training events, and act as an outreach platform to engage and inspire communities in fisheries management and livelihood diversification. Exchanges have led to communities of best practice and strengthened associations, and the opportunity to establish a formal network throughout the country.

Our team in Timor-Leste’s capital Dili works closely with government, civil society organisations and NGO partners.

Tanzania

Like its neighbours within the Northern Mozambique Channel marine biodiversity hotspot, Tanzania harbours some of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the Indian Ocean.  These habitats are facing unprecedented challenges from overfishing and climate change.

Our Tanzanian team has worked with communities and local organisations to support locally-led marine conservation since 2016.  Our work has expanded from Zanzibar to mainland regions of Tanga, Lindi and Kilwa where our technicians work with local partners to help communities strengthen co-management systems, working through beach management units (BMUs), Shehia Fishing Committees (SFCs) marine parks and Collaborative Fisheries Management Areas (CFMAs).

Our partners Mwambao Coastal Community Network, marinecultures.org and Sea Sense have spearheaded a remarkable acceleration in the uptake of community-based fisheries management and conservation in recent years, notably through the use of short term fisheries closures to catalyse broader community conservation.

Somalia

With one of Africa’s longest coastlines, Somalia’s diverse marine environment supports enormously productive coastal and offshore fisheries.  Decades of conflict have undermined the country’s capacity for fisheries management, with many foreign industrial vessels fishing with impunity, and little regard for the critical importance of Somalia’s coastal fisheries for local livelihoods and food security. 

A period of relative political and social stability unprecedented in recent decades is now presenting new opportunities to address past challenges, and to realise the considerable opportunities that well-managed coastal fisheries and conservation can offer Somalia. We are forging partnerships with community organisations in Somalia to build their capacity and skills to help coastal communities manage their fisheries for food security, livelihoods and conservation.

Philippines

The Philippines forms part of the ‘coral triangle’ epicentre of global marine biodiversity, with unparalleled diversity of marine species. Over half of the country’s 107 million people (55.6%) live in rural areas, and approximately three quarters depend on agriculture or fisheries as their primary source of livelihoods.

With our local partner People and the Sea, we are working in the eastern Visayas to support coastal communities to establish locally led marine conservation and fisheries management efforts underpinned by participatory data systems that put evidence in the hands of communities.

Papua New Guinea

The largest country in the Western Pacific Region, Papua New Guinea‘s coral reefs and mangroves are among the most diverse and extensive in the world. Papua New Guinea has a long history of traditional approaches for fisheries management, and huge unmet marine conservation needs.

We have been supporting our local partner Eco Custodian Advocates since 2019 in Milne Bay, notable for its vast mangrove forests and coral reefs. We are now expanding this support to other local organisations in Papua New Guinea, focused on supporting the establishment of customary LMMAs that provide locally relevant approaches to community led fishery management built upon local cultural traditions.

Indonesia

Indonesia comprises almost 17,500 islands stretching across three time zones. This archipelagic nation has the longest coastline − and the largest coastal fisheries resource − of any country on Earth. Ninety five percent of Indonesia’s seafood production comes from small-scale fisheries, which are underpinned by the most biodiverse marine ecosystem on Earth, known as the Coral Triangle.

In Indonesia, Blue Ventures’ partner Yayasan Pesisir Lestari, based in Bali, works with locally-based organisations Forkani, Yayasan LINI, Yapeka, Yayasan Planet Indonesia, Foneb, Komanangi, JARI, Yayasan Tananua Flores, Baileo, AKAR, Japesda, Yayasan Mitra Insani and Yayasan Hutan Biru.

These partners support community-based approaches to coral reef and mangrove conservation at 22 sites across seven provinces. Interventions are customised to each context − the local fisheries, community stakeholders, seafood supply chains, legal frameworks and customary traditions governing fisheries management and conservation.

Since 2019 we have brought these partners together within a peer learning network of Indonesian organisations specialised in supporting community-based marine conservation. The network is based around the shared values of the organisations, including a commitment to promote the rights of traditional fishing communities in conservation. Seventeen of the sites represented in this group are enacting local marine management through customary management regimes and traditions. This group, largely comprising sites in Eastern Indonesia, provides an important opportunity to share learning in traditional marine and fisheries management practices.

In West Kalimantan and East Sumatra we’re supporting mangrove-dependent coastal communities to integrate mangrove fishery and forestry management, alongside activities to develop alternative livelihoods or upgrade existing livelihoods. In North Sulawesi we’re supporting the development of community-owned ecotourism businesses, such as homestays, that diversify local livelihoods and place further value on protected and healthy marine ecosystems. Across our work in Indonesia, where partner communities have an unmet need for healthcare, we’re supporting the integration of health improvement activities into our interventions.

Find out more

India

We continue to work in India with our long term partner the Dakshin Foundation. We are collaborating in three distinct locations; the archipelago of Lakshadweep, coastal regions of Odisha and the Andaman Islands.

Overfishing has led to a reduction in fish catches, challenging the future of many traditional fishing communities.

Our partnership is working to build the capacity of communities to manage coastal fisheries,  and improve the health of fishing communities, for the long-term wellbeing of both the communities and their fishing grounds.

Kenya

Kenya’s coast supports an extraordinary diversity of tropical marine and coastal habitats.  These  waters are threatened by a proliferation of destructive fishing practices and over-harvesting within the artisanal and commercial fishing sectors.

Our approach in Kenya focuses on strengthening Beach Management Units (BMUs) to improve fisheries management.  Since 2016 our Mombasa-based technical team has provided support, mentoring and assistance to local partners including Pate Marine Community Conservancy (PMCC), Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) and Coastal and Marine Resource Development (COMRED).

These partnerships have seen notable achievements in community led fisheries management and conservation, including training and mentoring BMU leaders in eighteen communities in Kwale and Lamu Counties.

Comoros

The Comoros islands are located in the northern Mozambique Channel, a region home to the world’s second highest marine biodiversity after the Coral Triangle. This globally important biodiversity underpins coastal livelihoods and food security, but is at risk from climate change and overexploitation of inshore fisheries.

We have maintained a permanent presence supporting locally led marine conservation and fisheries management in Comoros since 2015, providing support to local partners, governmental institutions and communities.

On Anjouan, the second largest and most densely populated island in the Comoros archipelago, we work closely with national NGO Dahari. Our partnership has developed a replicable blueprint for community-based marine management, which has seen the creation of the country’s first locally managed marine areas − including temporary and permanent marine closures − designed to safeguard the coral reef ecosystems underpinning the archipelago’s coastal economy.

This approach, which is expanding rapidly across the Comoros, is also demonstrating the importance of inclusive conservation in empowering women − through local women’s fisheries associations − to play a leading role in fisheries monitoring and decision making.

On neighbouring island of Moheli and the french island of Mayotte, we’re supporting the Moheli National Park and the Mayotte Marine Natural Park with efforts to strengthen community engagement in fisheries management and conservation.

Belize

Belize’s marine environment encompasses some of the most important marine ecosystems in the Caribbean Sea, including vast coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass ecosystems. We have maintained a permanent presence in Belize since 2010, supporting diverse fisheries and conservation efforts from our base in Sarteneja, Belize’s largest fishing community.  

We work in close partnership with the Belize Fisheries Department, MPA managers, fishing cooperatives and fishers’ associations, and are actively involved in promoting the establishment of a national scale domestic fishery for invasive lionfish.  We’ve worked with coastal stakeholders to develop a national strategy for lionfish management, including launching the National Lionfish Working Group.  

We’ve led a ten year MPA monitoring and evaluation programme in Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, and provide training in coral reef monitoring methods to six MPA authorities in Belize, including helping establish management targets for Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, Belize’s largest MPA. 

Our team supports community-based fisheries and conservation groups across the country to ensure local interests are mainstreamed in the design and implementation of marine conservation and fisheries management, improving the effectiveness of co-management of conservation areas.

Mozambique

Our Mozambican team has worked with communities to develop locally led approaches to fisheries management and marine conservation since 2015.

Our approach is focused on supporting and strengthening local organisations and Community Fisheries Councils (CCPs) to better understand their local fisheries, make informed management decisions to rebuild fisheries, and assess the impact of management actions.  This work is developed in close collaboration with our partners Oikos- Cooperação e Desenvolvimento in Nampula province and African Parks in Inhambane province.

Ongoing security challenges have devastated many coastal communities and emerging marine conservation efforts in several areas of Cabo Delgado, where our work is regrettably now on hold.

As in Madagascar, given extremely high levels of coastal poverty and a pervasive lack of access to basic services, alongside our work in conservation we facilitate partnerships with specialist health providers, through an integrated health-environment approach.

Madagascar

Blue Ventures’ journey began in Madagascar in 2003, and we’ve been supporting communities in marine conservation across the country ever since. We have five regional field programmes along Madagascar’s west coast, as well as regional offices in the towns of Toliara, Morondava and Ambanja.  Our national headquarters is located in the capital Antananarivo.

Across all these sites we support communities with the establishment of locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), and work with government partners to secure national recognition for community conservation initiatives.  First developed in Madagascar by Blue Ventures in 2006, the LMMA concept has since been replicated by communities at hundreds of sites over thousands of kilometres of coastline, now covering almost one fifth of Madagascar’s inshore seabed.  Our research in Madagascar has demonstrated globally important evidence of the benefits of LMMAs to fisheries and conservation.

Our work focuses on strengthening community institutions in marine management and governance, and pioneering new approaches to catalyse community engagement in ocean conservation.  These innovations have included establishing the world’s first community-based sea cucumber farms and the country’s first mangrove blue carbon project.

At the national level, we have incubated the MIHARI network, now an independent civil society platform that brings together 219 LMMA sites across the country and 25 supporting conservation partner organisations.  Our policy team is also actively involved in advocating for more robust legislation to safeguard the rights and interests of fishing communities, and to remove destructive industrial fishing from coastal waters.

Given the lack of basic services in remote coastal regions in Madagascar, we also help communities access basic healthcare through training and supporting women to serve as community health workers. We do not replace government health systems, but work to strengthen existing structures in close collaboration with government health actors and specialist NGOs.  We also incubate Madagascar’s national health-environment network, which brings together 40 partner organisations to address the health needs of communities living in areas of conservation importance across the country.