BLUE VENTURES CONSERVATION REPORT Josephine M. Langley Vezo Knowledge: Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Andavadoaka, southwest Madagascar 52 Avenue Road, London N6 5DR
[email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 208 341 9819 Fax: +44 (0) 208 341 4821 BLUE VENTURES CONSERVATION REPORT Andavadoaka, 2006 © Blue Ventures 2006 Copyright in this publication and in all text, data and images contained herein, except as otherwise indicated, rests with Blue Ventures. Recommended citation: Langley, J. (2006). Vezo Knowledge: Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Andavadoaka, southwest Madagascar. BLUE VENTURES CONSERVATION REPORT Summary Many fisheries and marine conservation management (ii) Knowledge of marine resources is passed orally from projects throughout the world have been dogged by generation to generation failure as a result of a lack of acceptance of (iii) Traditional laws, taboos and ceremonies are commonly management interventions by local communities. used in natural resource management Evaluation of these failed studies has produced (iv) Lifestyle, food security and housing are all dependent extensive guidelines, manuals and new fields of study on natural resources and the use of coastal and marine (Bunce and Pomeroy, 2004). Community engagement, resources form an essential part of this participatory research, and promoting the use of local (v) The arrival of the Catholic Mission has reduced the knowledge have repeatedly emerged as steps necessary proportion of villagers adhering to traditional ancestor to address the problem of managing the development of worship people and their economies while simultaneously (vi) There has been a change in recent years from a barter protecting the environment (Berkes et al, 2001; Bunce and subsistence economy to a market-driven cash- based economy and Pomeroy, 2004; Wibera et al, 2004; Scholz et al, (vii) Increased income for some members of the 2004).