- Expeditions
Introduction
A satellite image of the Bay of Ranobe
ReefDoctor has been in Madagascar since January 2002 and concentrated its efforts on the lagoon and barrier/fringing reef system of the Bay of Ranobe, South Western Madagascar. We are based next to the main fishing and tourist villages of Ifaty and Mangili, 27km north of the main provincial city of Toliara, the second largest city in Madagascar.
The province of Toliara is one of the poorest in Madagascar and relies to a large extent on the reef for income and sustenance. This, alongside continued coastal development in the region, has caused a number of associated problems that have persuaded us to focus our efforts here.
The main problems facing the Bay of Ranobe area are:
• An increase in the local population and an influx of migrant fishermen;
• Intensive fishing activities in localised areas using techniques that result in physical damage to the marine environment and over exploitation of marine resources, especially in the lagoon reef system;
• Sustained high water temperatures in the lagoon leading to coral bleaching;
• High sedimentation rates due to deforestation of terrestrial forests and mangroves for agriculture, construction of homes and for fuel;
• Mass algal blooms caused by run-off from agricultural fertilisers, the output of human effluent from Toliara and coastal villages and over exploitation of the marine resources, which result in increased nutrients. These algal blooms smother the corals causing further reef degradation.
Through a programme of coral reef ecosystem research and monitoring, marine management and community development ReefDoctor hopes to help the local community learn more sustainable fishing practises, develop an understanding of the marine environment and manage its resources for positive development in the community over the short and long term.
