Future objectives

Reef health research

In 2007 ReefDoctor aims to consolidate and expand its reef health monitoring surveys. We will be adding new survey sites to our current itinerary, extending our coverage to the northern reaches of the Bay of Ranobe.

At the end of 2006, Emma, who carried out s sedimentation study throughout 2005/6, will be returning to Madagascar to take further sediment samples from our lagoonal sites to assess changes in sedimentation levels over the last year.

Alongside this, we will be developing stronger links with international monitoring organisations such as the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, which publishes the annual Status of Coral Reefs of the World. In this way, we hope that the data we are currently collecting can play a larger part in international research and conservation efforts.

Marine Management

For our marine management programme, discussions have taken place with the Ministry of Fisheries in Toliara, the local fishermen and other stakeholders and we are now entering the final phase in establishing local laws for the protection and management of a community-led MPA (marine protected area) at the site known locally as the Rose Garden, or Jardin du Rose.

This work will be one of the first steps to generate new sources of income in Ifaty and Mangili to support sustainable fishing practises and to contribute to community development projects such as improvements to the village school, and contributing to the building of a clinic or additional clean water supplies.

Throughout 2007 we will be surveying the Rose Garden in order to assess the impact of the implementation of the MPA, and working with the local community in the management of funds gained through tourism entry fees.

Alongside this we hope that in 2007 we will see the benefits of our FAD (Fish Aggregation Device) programme. We will be placing four new permanent FADs on the exterior of the lagoon in the Bay of Ranobe and monitoring their effectiveness through dive surveys and an extension to our existing fishing survey work that monitor the catches from the FAD sites.

Finally we will be implementing a programme of education for local fishermen and pirogue owners that act as guides for tourists on snorkelling trips to the Rose Garden and other local sites. Our objective is to educate them in good anchoring practice, and reef conservation techniques, as well as providing and introduction to the marine environment. Those involved will receive an accreditation and we hope to work with existing associations in the area to make it easier for tourists to contact local guides.

Community development

Throughout 2005/06 we have been working in partnership with other NGOs based in Madagascar to expand our involvement with village schools and the marine education curriculum. This has included translating elements of the curriculum in to the national Malagasy language and extending its use to more coastal primary schools in the region. In 2007 we will be working with the Toliara school board to produce marine education information and teaching resources to aid in the teaching of the marine education curriculum in local schools.

In our alternative livelihoods programme we will be continuing socio-economic assessments of the villagers of Ifaty and Mangili and expanding coverage to nearby villages that also use the Bay of Ranobe. We also hope to see some of the small enterprises, such as a bakery and the use of ready made rice flour for making mokary (the local rice cakes), develop and begin generating income for the fishermen and their families.

Finally, in 2006 we began work display materials for a local marine museum. In 2007 we will be building the open-air structure to house these materials and we hope that the museum will act as a centre for discovery for locals and tourists alike, informing people about the reef and how they can help contribute to its preservation.

Organisational improvements

In 2007 ReefDoctor will be working to further develop the Capricorn Coastal Alliance. We believe that by combining the efforts of marine conservation organisations working in south-west Madagascar, all of us will be able to bring greater benefits to the local communities and institutions that we are working with. Through the CCA we will be able to pull together regional resources, experience and personnel, to help the IH.SM, the University of Toliara and its students, and other regional marine conservation groups in south-west Madagascar.

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