[LUM#7] Returning to Madagascar

[LUM Magazine] - Published on April 3, 2018 in Enriching Your Education, Science and Society, Community Life

Welcome to Nosy Lava: a paradise of biodiversity in the Indian Ocean. But for how long? Faced with the threats weighing on this small fishing island, six students from Montpellier are taking action.

Poaching, animal trade, destruction of mangroves, intensive fishing... On the island of Nosy Lava and in Ananalava, a coastal town in northwestern Madagascar, animal species have already disappeared, such as the iconic dugong; turtles are slaughtered by poachers, the sea is overfished, and mangroves are burned to produce charcoal.

Marine protected area

In 2014, the island's inhabitants called on the Opti'Pousse Haie association, which specializes in sustainable local development, for help. A solution was devised: the creation of a marine protected area on site. In the summer of 2017, six biology and ecology students from Montpellier arrived in Nosy Lava to lay the scientific foundations for the project, dubbed "Protect Mada'."

Among them is Florine Hadjadj, 22. The young woman discovers a new reality: "a very poor country, where the first priority is survival: having something to eat in the evening, feeding the children, not getting sick. The difference with our daily lives is enormous... and our message is sometimes difficult to get across!" Turtles, a protected species? Not easy to explain in a country where hunting them can be a means of subsistence...

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The six vahazas¹ They know that the protected area will only be viable if it is supported by the local community. There is only one way forward: to convince them. "The awareness-raising work took a long time. We met with everyone." Through meetings, discussions, film screenings and debates, and even games to raise awareness, bonds were patiently forged with the population. One by one, the villages concerned signed up to the project. The preliminary dossier for the creation of the protected area is now complete and will be submitted at the end of 2017.

For Florine, the adventure lasted four months. It changed her forever. "When I arrived, I was longing to see virgin forests. But the real discovery was elsewhere. It was meeting these extraordinary people: their kindness, their benevolent curiosity, their joy in welcoming us..."

Today, the young woman is taking a gap year from her studies. And she has only one thing in mind: returning to Madagascar, where she does not have only good memories. "I fell ill in the middle of a pneumonic plague epidemic: it was terrifying! There, I came face to face with a reality that had eluded me. It put life back into perspective. And I discovered how simple happiness can be..."

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Keywords: Biology, Ecology, Students, LUM#7, LUM Magazine