The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) is the largest non-governmental organisation for environmental protection and nature conservation in Finland with over 34,000 members. FANC has been operating with its local partners in Madagascar since 2011.
FANC’s main implementing partners in Madagascar are Association Mitsinjo and Association Manondroala (previously Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Madagascar). Association Mitsinjo is a Malagasy NGO focusing on biodiversity conservation, eco-tourism and community development. The association is located in Andasibe in eastern Madagascar and is responsible for the implementation of the project activities.
The cooperation with these partners started in 2012 with the project Manondroala which focuses on protecting, restoring and monitoring of natural forests in Madagascar. The remaining forests of Madagascar serve as the last refuge for numerous species and represent important natural resources for the local communities. Forests are priceless for the preservation of biodiversity, local livelihoods and clean water supplies. The Manondroala project is collecting new information on the state of forests and has trained local groups in forest mapping and monitoring. Based on extensive fieldwork and high-resolution satellite images, the project has produced detailed maps of the state of humid forests in Madagascar. Besides forest mapping, the project supports forest restoration with the aim of linking fragmented forest patches and in this way enlarging the habitats of endangered species depending on the forest.
Since 2015, a new element in the cooperation of Association Mitsinjo and FANC has been the protection of Torotorofotsy wetland, a valuable Ramsar Convention site; a wetland of international importance. Torotorofotsy wetland is a habitat for numerous endangered species. It plays an important role in climate change adaptation, maintaining hydrological processes, and local food security for the local people. Also, preserving the Torotorofotsy wetland helps preventing erosion and conserving biodiversity. The main threat to the wetland area is rice cultivation. The Torotorofotsy project supports local communities in developing sustainable livelihoods with e.g. diversification of farming practices and production of natural handicrafts.
Environmental education and awareness raising play an important role in both projects within local school children, tourists, students and the public in Finland.
For more information:
Laura BLOMBERG +358 40 144 0291 / laura.blomberg(at)sll.fi
development cooperation coordinator, international coordinator of Manondroala 2 and Torotorofotsy projects
Finnish Association for Nature conservation
Haingotiana RAMIARINJANAHARY / ramiarin(at)hotmail.com
national coordinator, Torotorofotsy project
Angela TARIMY / angelatarimy(at)gmail.com
national coordinator, Manondroala project
national representative of Association Manondroala
*****
sll.fi/madagascar (in English) or sll.fi/madagaskar (in Finnish)
Follow the project’s latest news by following our Facebook page (FANC Madagascar) and Instagram (fanc.madagascar).
FANC Madagascar 
[…] evaluation has been made of Manondroala, one of our joint projects with the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. The report is now […]