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Blue Ventures, Madagascar

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Blue Ventures, Madagascar Contents A word from the Chair About Blue Ventures About this guide Blue Ventures, Madagascar Velondriake Blue Ventures Projects Before you go Confirming your Place Paying your balance Forms Medical Forms Emergency contacts Flights When to fly Overland tour Internal flights Insurance Travel insurance DAN insurance Arriving and Departing International Domestic Money Visas Buying your kit Clothes/Equipment Dive Kit Dive Manuals Page 1 Whilst you’re there Internal Logistics Between Tana and Toliara Accommodation Recommendations Getting to Andavadoaka Things to do in Toliara The Expedition The Site The Team When you arrive Rules and Regulations Training Diving Other Projects you may or may not be involved in during your expedition Practicalities on site Health and Safety When you get home Feedback Reviews Spread the Word Check-ups Social Media Blogs Appendices Expedition Checklist Recommended background reading General background and natural history Terrestrial field guides Travel guides Useful websites Local Malagasy Word List Page 2 A word from the Chair Dear Volunteer, Many thanks for choosing to take part in a research expedition in Andavadoaka, Madagascar with Blue Ventures. Andavadoaka is particularly close to our heart as it is where Blue Ventures first begun back in 2003 and continues to be our flagship research site. The work we undertake in the region continues to go from strength to strength and we are truly thankful to our volunteers, without whom our ground-breaking initiatives could never have been realised. With the continued support of people like you, we can ensure that our work continues to improve the lives of thousands of the Vezo people of Southwest Madagascar and provide coastal communities the knowledge and skills they need to live sustainably. I hope that you find your time in Andavadoaka fulfilling, not only in terms of gaining valuable diving and science skills, but also by experiencing living within a truly fascinating community and getting to know the people who are directly benefitting from your efforts. Kind Regards Jonathan Katz Chair of Trustees Blue Ventures Conservation Page 3 About Blue Ventures Blue Ventures believes that with the right knowledge, developing coastal communities can live in harmony with their marine environments. Our expeditions and research give coastal communities the knowledge and skills they need to live sustainably. To achieve this we have a team of dedicated researchers and volunteers who study all aspects of the marine ecosystem. The results from our work help us to propose new ideas to benefit coastal communities everywhere. About this guide Our expedition site in Andavadoaka, Madagascar is the perfect location for our work and a fantastic host community for our volunteers. It is, however, extremely remote and therefore it is imperative that you take time to ensure that you are fully prepared for your trip. We want you to have a safe, valuable, memorable and, of course, fun experience so we have put together detailed notes to help you with your preparations. Please read these carefully and in plenty of time before your expedition. You may find that certain items you need to bring could take time to get hold of or bits of paperwork may take more time to get complete than you expect. This guide will give you a brief introduction to Blue Ventures and the work we are doing in the country and then give you detailed information split into the following sections: ▪ Before you go; ▪ Whilst you’re there; ▪ When you get home. If you have any questions about any aspect of preparing for your trip, please just drop us a line or pick up the phone! Page 4 Blue Ventures, Madagascar Starting as a small group of marine science students in 2001, the BV team has been working in Madagascar ever since. Back then our mission was focused on research, particularly in supporting our local partners in studying Madagascar's enormously important yet little known coral reefs. Year by year our work developed and we ventured from coral reefs to fisheries, then on to understanding the issues facing the communities that depend on Madagascar's marine biodiversity for their survival. And as our research evolved, so did our understanding of the challenges facing Madagascar's fragile marine environments. We came to understand that research alone is not sufficient to ensure a sustainable future for marine biodiversity. Without a concerted effort to connect research to action, through the application of science and education, conservation will remain out of our reach. And so our research paved the way for education and finally conservation, built on a foundation of enduring partnerships with local institutions and communities, many of which continue today. So far our unique, grassroots approach has led to the creation of the three largest community-managed marine protected areas in the entire Indian Ocean. We've built sustainable aquadive kit businesses, put many hundreds of children through school, funded scholarships for dozens of university students, published countless scientific reports and papers, and catalysed a new movement for marine conservation nationally. And our work must continue on: Madagascar has nearly 6000 km of coastline, one of the longest in the Indian Ocean. Hundreds of thousands of coastal people, amongst the poorest on earth, depend directly on the country's healthy seas for their survival. Our priority now is to build on our early successes, sharing our findings at a broader scale, and bringing communities together to communicate best practice and expertise in conserving coastal ecosystems. And at every level of this work we depend on the tireless commitment of volunteers to meet this goal, working both in field and office environments, above and below the waves. As we ourselves have discovered, your role in an expedition goes far beyond simply surveying coral reefs. Velondriake Velondriake is a collection of 25 villages (Andavadoaka being one of them) in the southwest of Madagascar who have come together to protect biodiversity and improve livelihoods as well as increase environmental awareness amongst communities. 7000 people live within the Velondriake area and it is the largest Locally-Managed Marine Area (LMMA) in the Indian Ocean covering 640 square-km. The area protects coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, baobab forests and other threatened habitats and serves as a model to other communities for conservation, economic development, and local governance and management initiatives. For more information on Velondriake you can visit livewiththesea.org. ​ ​ Page 5 As you will be diving within the marine reserve, we ask all volunteers to pay a £10 entry fee. This will automatically be added to your invoice. The money goes directly towards supporting Velondriake. Page 6 Blue Ventures Projects Whilst you are in Madagascar you will come across various initiatives which have been set up and continue to be supported by Blue Ventures as part of our holistic approach to marine conservation. The Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area is just one of these and it is something that you will learn a lot about during your time in Andavadoaka. Some other projects that you may help with, see or hear about are: Fisheries Management: Blue Ventures manages a number of research and conservation ​ programmes focusing on maintaining the sustainability of key fisheries. These include; development of temporary closures of fisheries to allow fish stocks to recover, bioeconomic analysis to prove the profitability of fisheries management and a shark and turtle research programme covering 400km of coastline. Aquaculture: We manage community-based sea cucumber and seaweed farms offering ​ communities lucrative and socially-viable alternatives to fishing. As well as reducing fishing effort and relieving pressure on fragile marine ecosystems, these alternative income sources are working to alleviate poverty in local communities. Safidy (Community Health): This programme is working to address the unmet reproductive ​ ​ health needs of 40 communities in and around Velondriake, with local women trained to offer family planning counselling and contraceptives within their villages. Safidy means "freedom to choose" in Malagasy Vezo, and aims to provide couples with the information and means to freely choose the number and spacing of their births. As a result, the proportion of women using Page 7 contraceptives has increased from 10% in 2007 to 55% in 2013. This programme also encompasses maternal and child health, water, sanitation and hygiene. Our village outreach tours include school workshops, youth club sessions and interactive community presentations covering both health and environmental topics. Safidy is an important part of Blue Ventures' integrated Population-Health-Environment approach which empowers coastal communities to live more healthily and sustainably alongside their unique marine environment. Education: Every year BV supports around 200 children in Velondriake to attend school. The ​ school scholarships programme provides them with the educational opportunities they need to create paths out of poverty and support marine conservation within their communities. This initiative was initially set up by some expedition volunteers who wanted to help children in Velondriake to go to school, and is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of friends of Blue Ventures. We also have a UNICEF programme called ‘Connecting Classrooms’ which aims to promote e-learning about conservation and sustainable natural resource management among young people throughout Madagascar. We deliver environmental education in Andavadoaka through Saturday Schools for children and Club AloAlo for youth, and have a radio show called Feom'Bezo which means "The Voice of the Vezo" featuring updates and information about all of our programmes. Climate change (Blue Carbon): The effort of our blue carbon programme is primarily focussed ​ on REDD+ for mangroves. REDD+ is the reduction of emissions from deforestation and ​ ​ degradation, plus other measures to restore, enhance and conserve forest stocks. It basically encompasses a wide range of measures that aim to stop the loss of tropical forest.
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