Lemur Love conducts scientific research and partners with Malagasy women to build capacity and promote conservation.
Lemur Love believes in leveraging both the heart and the mind in the movement to preserve Madagascar’s unique and Endangered primates, the lemurs.
Our goal is to ensure lemurs thrive in their forest homes through the power of women, science, and our extended global ‘troop’. We envision a world where both lemurs and humans thrive.
Lemur Love conducts and disseminates scientific long-term research on ring-tailed lemur populations in the northern portion of Tsimanampesotse. Moreover, along with our partners at the Pet Lemur Survey, we are committed to understanding the legal and illegal trades of wild lemurs through current and upcoming projects.
Lemur Love believes in investing in women, often underrepresented in both science and on the ground conservation leadership. Malagasy women possess unique insights and local knowledge that are crucial to devising robust solutions that will protect lemurs in the future. Lemur Love is collaborating with Ikala STEM, a women-led association that aims to promote education and science and to raise the profile of women in STEM in Madagascar.
Mikajy Natiora combines research and community outreach to save lemurs in northwest Madagascar.
Supporting lemur conservation through research and community outreach
Mikajy Natiora undertaking outreach in a local school.
Mikajy Natiora protects Madagascar’s endemic biodiversity by combining ecological research and local community involvement; they currently focus their work on northwest Madagascar in the region surrounding the Sahamalaza Iles Radama National Park. Evidence of the importance of this young organization’s work can be found in the fact that it has been funded by over a half-dozen prestigious foundations including the Van Tienhoven Foundation for International Nature Protection, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, and the Rufford Foundation.
What lemur species does Mikajy Natiora protect?
Mikajy Natiora participating in a local environmentally-themed carnival.
A large focus of Mikajy Natiora’s work is to conduct research and maintain updated information about endangered lemur populations at their study site in northwest Madagascar. One of these species includes the Blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) – the only primate in the world with blue eyes – which is estimated to go extinct in 11 years unless drastic measures are taken to conserve the species. In addition, Mikajy Natiora collects information about the:
Sahamalaza sportive lemur (Lepilemur sahamalazensis; less than 100 individuals remaining)
Sambirano mouse lemur (Microcebus sambiranensis; new population discovered by Mikajy Natiora)
Fork marked dwarf lemur (Phaner furcifer)
Western gentle lemur (Hapalemur griseus occidentalis)
Partnering with local communities
Mikajy Natiora always informs local communities when they are going to conduct activities in the vicinity by using public meetings to explain the objectives of their work. In addition, the organization undertakes several education and outreach programs to supplement their research-based approach.
Mikajy Natiora staff!
Education, outreach, and training
Mikajy Natiora has been conducting regular education and outreach programs on the lemurs of the Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park since 2013. The objectives of this outreach are to increase the local communities’ awareness about the need and the importance of the conservation of the lemurs and its forest habitat.
In addition, Mikajy Natiora trains park rangers and local stakeholders to increase their knowledge about biodiversity and their skills in managing and interacting with the local ecosystem sustainably.
Providing alternative livelihoods to communities
Starting in 2015, Mikajy Natiora plans to begin implementing programs that allow communities to develop new sources of income that help decrease the need for humans to use the local forests for survival.
Conservation Fusion connects communities across the world through innovative education programs that promote conservation actions. The organization currently focuses its efforts in Madagascar where it partners with research-oriented organizations – including the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership – to undertake education outreach programs. Conservation Fusion has ongoing programs in northern (Antsiranana region), eastern (Analmazaotra and Kianjavato), and southern Madagascar (Lavavolo).
How We Protect Lemurs And Other Wildlife
We protect lemurs by raising awareness of lemur species and their conservation at four sites in southern Madagascar.
What Lemur Species We Protect
Conservation Fusion help to protect the following species of lemur:
Our greatest successes have come from the relationships and collaborations that we have forged with researchers, local communities, and organizations who aim to complement Conservation Fusion’s education programs and vision. Conservation Fusion continues education-based programming; our work in southern Madagascar is just one of the many initiatives being undertaken to raise awareness in-country. Here we focus on raising awareness of radiated tortoises, ring-tailed lemurs, and sifaka in the dry spiny forests of Lavavolo in southern Madagascar. Outreach programs – which have been implemented for over three years – consist of hands-on activities with the local villages and schools and include: community gardens, agriculture training, workshops on using fuel-efficient Rocket Stove, and a junior researcher day.
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership works with communities on comprehensive research and conservation programming.
Supporting Lemur Conservation by believing that everything is connected, or “Mampifandray ny tontolo”
Dr. Louis and Sheila Holmes collecting data from a lemur.
The Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP) was founded in 2010 by Dr. Edward E. Louis Jr., Director of Conservation Genetics at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium (OHDZA) who has been working in Madagascar since 1998. The MBP strives to protect local forests for the lemurs while sustainably raising the standard of living for communities who are equally reliant upon the natural resources. Believing that everything is connected, or “Mampifandray ny tontolo”, the MBP incorporates research, education and community involvement to achieve sustainability.
What Lemur Species does the Madagascar Biodiversity Project Protect?
A baby Lepilemur septentrionalis being examined.
MBP works across the country to support research and outreach related to several different lemur species, including:
Aye aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata)
Crowned lemur (Eulemur coronatus)
Diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema)
Greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus; only about 300 individuals remain!)
Northern sportive lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis; only about 50 individuals remain!)
Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)
The MBP is pioneering research on the northern sportive lemurs, whose populations are incredibly small (less than 50 individuals remaining) and who cannot be kept in captivity. In addition – and together with the Malagasy government – they have helped re-establish the diademed sifaka and the black-and-white ruffed lemur to their historical ranges in the Analamazoatra Special Reserve. These populations are now monitored by the MBP year-round. Finally, the MBP uses radio collars and other innovative technology to track lemur populations; this helps increase understanding of how different species use different types of habitat and how conservation programs can effectively protect lemurs in the future.
Teaching planting techniques in rural Madagascar.
How is MBP Protecting Habitat for Lemur Conservation?
MBP is a leader in reforestation efforts in Madagascar, and undertakes programming in west (Andasibe, Kianjavato) and southern Madagascar (Lavavolo). The MBP also undertakes reforestation initiatives in the areas where it is working to distribute fuel-efficient cook stoves in northern Madagascar.
Reforestation in Kianjavato
The MBP’s largest reforestation programming is based in Kianjavato and is called the Education Promoting Reforestation Project (EPRP).
This program’s success is based on the fact that seeds which have passed through a lemur’s intestinal tract grow better than seeds that haven’t. By collecting the seeds in lemur poop, the MBP has been able to plant over 6 million trees!
Students from the Kianjavato public school students with trees.
This program – and the associated community education and outreach efforts – have been so successful that they were featured on National Public Radio in the United States and in other media outlets worldwide.
Partnering with Local Communities
A member of Single Mothers Club planting trees.
Madagascar has a young and growing population that is increasingly reliant upon the country’s dwindling natural resources, which is compounded by their decreasing GDP. Despite the precarious conditions, there is room for hope. The MBP has initiated multiple community-based conservation efforts and development plans designed to rebalance the relationship between people and the ecosystem; many of their community outreach efforts are conducted together with Conservation Fusion.
Fuel-efficient cook stoves
In partnership with the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and with Conservation Fusion, MBP is undertaking work to reduce the use of charcoal in some areas of Madagascar. Charcoal production – which causes large areas of forest to be cut down in Madagascar and is often unsustainable – is a big threat to lemur populations. MBP has distributed over 100 fuel-efficient cooking stoves and supplements these with hands-on education programs and reforestation initiatives.
Aquaponics development
Aquaponics is a sustainable food production method that combines techniques used to raise fish for food and hydroponics methods for growing plants in liquid mediums. Properly balanced aquaponics systems can provide large amounts of food, which is important in areas of Madagascar where families are food insecure – meaning, in areas where families do not have access to the food that they need, when they need it. MBP – in partnership with a Omaha-based aquaponics nonprofit – is undertaking pilot programs which will help fine-tune the implementation of this type of equipment on-the-ground in Madagascar.
Capacity building
Prolemur simus eating some bamboo.
As part of the MBP’s ongoing research programs, over 50 Malagasy doctorate and graduate students, 30 Malagasy undergraduate students, and 10 international students have received considerable training in research methods and conservation paradigms. For example, through the MBP’s role in helping to re-establish lemur populations in the Analamazoatra Special Reserve, students and local communities have received training on how to monitor these new populations and how re-establishment programs must be designed in order to be successful.
In addition, the MBP supports 80+ full-time Malagasy employees as field assistants, project supervisors, office employees, and supporting staff members.
A female Blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons).
AEECL focuses conservation efforts in northwest Madagascar through innovative capacity building, community outreach, and on-the-ground research programs. We have been conducting community-based conservation programs on the Sahamalaza Peninsula since 2000. We support lemur conservation by maintaining and strengthening natural habitat and improving how that habitat is used by humans. Additionally, AEECL advances the understanding and conservation of Madagascar’s lemurs through scientific research and captive breeding.
How We Protect Lemurs And Other Wildlife
Reforestation
We work with local communities to conduct community-based reforestation. AEECL’s programs planted over 111,000 trees around 14 villages in 2013 alone, involving local schools. Once the trees are planted, an association of gardeners monitors the survival of saplings and re-plants trees if necessary.
Constructing a fire break with the help of local communities.
Patrolling Forests
We work with six local park committees to help patrol the forests in the national park. In 2013, these local park controls completed 300 patrol days.
Protecting Forests From Wildfires
Lastly, we work with local partners to organize community volunteers to build a 7 kilometer-long firebreak to protect the forest from the spread of wild fires. The community turn-out for yearly construction of the firebreak is extremely large—larger than many other community events in the region.
What Lemur Species We Protect
AEECL is heavily focused on the Sahamalaza Peninsula which is home to several lemur species, including:
We see community collaboration as key to supporting and protecting the wildlife and habitat within the Sahamalaza National Park.
World Environment Day parade with local authorities.
Eco-tourism
Since 2013, we’ve been working with local communities to increase local capacity to accommodate tourists by building several key facilities, including housing and solar paneling.
In addition, we train members of the local community to become tourist guides. We also created a guide association, which advocates for the guides and organizes tourist group visits. Guide training helps local community members improve their french and increase their knowledge of the local ecosystem and lemur species, thus helping them to become ambassadors for Madagascar’s environment.
Social Development
We have been working in education outreach since 2012, including much-needed school construction and renovation programs which impacted thirteen schools in the perimeter of the Sahamalaza National Park. We also subsidize the salaries of 60 school teachers, impacting over 2,000 students.
We have improved sanitation, hygiene, and health through the construction of six water wells in the surrounding communities. The construction of these wells is extremely important because water shortages have become increasingly common.
Reforestation outreach in rural Malagasy communities.
Environmental Outreach
We also work on a variety of local environmental awareness initiatives, organizing activities for World Environment Day and the World Lemur Festival. Activities are planned to increase environmental awareness, including parades, speeches, radio quizzes, sports events, and community dance events.
We help fund and organize the Lampogno Festival, a fun 4-day event about how food availability and habitat conservation are connected using films, children’s activities, speeches, and even a song contest.
About Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY) at Harvard
There are no greater global concerns than the disappearance and destruction of our planet’s ecosystems and wildlife and the improvement of human health and food security for vulnerable human populations around the world.
Since 2004, our team has been actively researching the intersection of environmental health and human health to understand the ways in which ecosystem transformation has downstream effects on human wellbeing.
Most of our work has centered on estimating the role of bushmeat hunting in both decimating local wildlife populations (lemurs, carnivores, bats, tenrecs, etc.) and also influencing human nutrition and food security. All of our work has always been driven by and embedded in local communities to understand the psychology around illegal wildlife harvesting and to develop a paired vision for future conservation and development.
MAHERY has focused much of its efforts on the following bodies of research:
the impact of overhunting and terrestrial wildlife declines on food security and nutrition
the impact of fisheries management and marine conservation on food security and nutrition
the use of traditional medicines by local people
the practice of pica and geophagy
barriers to accessing healthcare and adequate nutrition
the role of livestock husbandry in securing adequate nutrition
the role of wildlife hunting and consumption in zoonotic disease transmission
the disease ecology of various infectious diseases (i.e. malaria)
In each of these research activities, we have collaborated with local organizations and trained American and Malagasy students to understand how to carry out interdisciplinary research.
The Mad Dog Initiative is working to protect and conserve the biodiversity of Madagascar through a targeted feral and domestic dog spay/neuter, vaccination, removal, and adoption program.
In addition to this targeted program, we are conducting photographic sampling (camera trapping) of carnivore populations and lemur transect sampling to evaluate the effectiveness of this dog control program. Further, we are modeling the interactions between feral and domestic dogs and a host of endemic carnivore and lemur species. To address the ultimate causes of why dogs go feral in Madagascar and to improve our understanding of the role of dogs in households and villages across Madagascar, we are conducting expansive household surveys and questionnaires.
Our project consists of a number of collaborations among US, Canadian, and Malagasy researchers, students, and veterinarians. Our research project currently employs:
two Malagasy veterinarians,
one Malagasy veterinarian student,
two Malagasy researchers,
up to four local guides, and
one US field technician.
As the result of our success in promoting and developing consideration for the human treatment and conservation of wildlife, we were recently awarded with the Virginia McKenna award from Compassionate Conservation and the Born Free organization.
GERP connects Malagasy scientists united in saving lemurs.
Groupe d’étude et de recherche (GERP) connects scientists in Madagascar with the international community to help build in-country capacity for lemur conservation.
Established in 1994 by the Department of Biological Anthropology and Paleontology and Department of Animal Biology of the University of Antananarivo (Madagascar), its headquarters are located right on the university campus, in the center of the capital city. Notably, GERP took over management of the Maromizaha forest in 2008.
How We Protect Lemurs And Other Wildlife
GERP provides a real opportunity for Malagasy university students to connect with foreign researchers.
We focus on the scientific study of lemurs, including the study of their geographical distribution, the implementation of conservation plans, and participation in the discovery of new species. We also translocate animals weakened by the destruction of their habitat to protected areas and zoos.
Since 2008, GERP has been managing the Maromizaha forest in eastern Madagascar. This 1880 hectare forest is home to important wildlife but local villagers continue to extract resources from the park to meet their needs. For this reason, GERP’s responsibilities include patrolling the park, increasing enforcement, undertaking reforestation programming, and working to increase awareness in the region about alternative livelihoods and the value of nature.
What Lemur Species We Protect
GERP is best known for having played a key role in discovering three new species of lemurs:
Madame Berthe lemur (Microcebus berthae)
MacArthur’s mouse lemur (Microcebus macarthurii)
Gerp’s mouse lemur (Microcebus gerpi)
They also actively work in regions that protect several other lemur species, including:
Eastern woolly lemur (Avahi laniger)
Indri (Indri indri)
Diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema)
Common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus)
Red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer)
Eastern lesser bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus)
Black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata)
How We Support Local Communities
Education
2014 World Lemur Festival in Antananarivo, Madagascar
By connecting scientists in Madagascar with international research groups, GERP is building the capacity of local community associations, as well as primary and higher education systems here. This will help increase the in-country capabilities to conserve endangered lemur populations.
In the villages surrounding the Maromizaha forest, we at GERP have donated hundreds of school uniforms to the students who cannot afford them and we have covered the costs of teacher salaries when no funding was available to pay them. Through its ongoing programs in Maromizaha, GERP has been able to offer local primary school students a variety of science educational opportunities, including guided visits into the forest and interactive tree-planting lessons.
World Lemur Festival
GERP was a key organizer of the first World Festival of Lemurs, which raised significant awareness for the plight of endangered lemur populations and engaged communities across the globe in lemur-related activities.
