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Marat Karpeka Lemur Foundation

By on December 17, 2018

The Marat Karpeka Lemur Foundation exists because more than 90% of lemur species are now facing extinction, making them the most threatened group of mammals on earth. MKLF hopes to lead the effort to save these remarkable creatures. We are committed to education of local people and the conservation of lemurs and their habitats.

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What’s the story of the Marat Karpeka Lemur Foundation?

Essential to our organization are Marat Karpeka and Dr. Russell Mittermeier. Marat Karpeka is a successful entrepreneur who chose to give back through donating to various wildlife conservation organizations. Having a passion for lemurs, and wanting to do more, he founded the Marat Karpeka Lemur Foundation. Consulting with Dr. Russell Mittermeier, a world-renowned primatologist, MKLF is able to select the most efficient lemur projects with measurable results.

Photo by Scott Pollard

Which lemur species does Marat Karpeka Lemur Foundation work with?

  • Black blue-eyed lemur
  • Milne-Edwards sportive lemur
  • Crowned sifaka
  • And other endemic species to northwest region of Madagascar

Where does MKLF work?

MKLF works in northwestern Madagascar. They work closely with AEECL in Sahamalaza National Park.

How does Marat Karpeka Lemur Foundation work for lemur conservation?

Construction of a new school in Antafiabe village

The overall goal is to build the permanent school in the village Antafiabe, part of the Sahamalaza National Park. The building will include 2 rooms of 49 m² each and one separate toilet block. Each room will have one blackboard, one cupboard, one desk and one chair for the teacher.

We want to shift our focus to help the community. We believe that the community has the strongest impact on the environment. The school will be a cornerstone in educating the next generation so that they are more equipped in making a difference.

Antafiabe is the last village that leads to the Ankarafa forest that has a school. The village is dedicated to environment protection and has since been active in reforestation, creating of firebreaks, and hosting the lemur festival.

The building of the existing school that local villagers have been using is already old (around 50 years) and is unable to accommodate all the students and teachers. There are not enough tables and chairs for everyone in old school. During the rainy seasons classes are not being conducted because of the leaks if the roof. The new school will also motivate the teachers, who won’t need to worry that their lesson plans will be disrupted if classes get canceled.

We hope that you share our aspiration to see that these children become successful by getting to complete their education. This does not stop with the building but some help will be needed year on year to ease the burden and help children make their dreams a reality.

Community Partnerships and Sustainability

We work closely with our partner AEECL and more specifically project manager Guy Randriatahina. He’s been working in this area for a long time, so the local population trusts him and is willing to cooperate.

 

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Bristol Zoological Society

By on January 20, 2015

BZS logo

Bristol Zoological Society saves wildlife through action, policy, and collaboration.

Supporting lemur conservation by supporting research, environmental policy, and nonprofits working in Madagascar

Bristol Zoological Society Pierre Lepi 1Bristol Zoological Society saves wildlife through conservation action and engaging people with the natural world. The zoological society currently focuses its efforts on the Sahamalaza peninsula of northwestern Madagascar. We are working together with other European zoos to protect the last remaining populations of two critically endangered lemur species, the blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) and the Sahamalaza sportive lemur (Lepilemur sahamalazensis).

What lemur species does the Bristol Zoological Society protect?

The Bristol Zoological Society undertakes efforts to study and conserve the following species:

  • Blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons)
  • Sahamalaza sportive lemur (Lepilemur sahamalazensis)
  • Sambirano mouse lemur (Microcebus sambiranensis)
  • Northern giant mouse lemur (Mirza zaza)

Influencing environmental policy to help lemurs

Bristol Zoological Society Pierre Lepi 2The Bristol Zoological Society aims to raise awareness of the threats facing lemurs at the regional, national, and international level. For example, the zoological society worked with the government to create the Sahamalza Iles Radama National Park. In addition, the BZS Director of Conservation, Dr. Christoph Schwitzer, is the editor of Lemur News, and online and publicly available newsletter that connects the research and conservation community. In addition, the BZS has led the publication of several highly-visible articles, which effectively called attention to the plight of lemurs in Madagascar.

Some of these publications include:

  • Schwitzer et al. (2014) Protecting lemurs – response. Science. 344: 358
  • Schwitzer et al. (2014) Averting lemur extinctions amid Madagascar’s political crisis. Science. 343: 842-843

Partnering with local communities

Bristol Zoological Society Felicia inspecting Lepilemur pooThe Bristol Zoological Society actively engages with the public and scientific community, sharing knowledge, eliciting support, and guiding behavior change. They apply specialist skills to investigate conservation problems and to guide and support local communities in tackling their environmental issues.

Specifically, the BZS aims to improve the conservation status of their target lemur species both through direct research and by supporting local NGOs in the region. As one of the core partners in the AEECL (Association Europeenne pour l’Etude et la Conservation des Lemuriens), the BZS helps to improve the education of the local communities neighboring lemur forest fragments by helping to employ 60 teachers in 37 villages and providing conservation education teaching materials.

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Mikajy Natiora

By on January 20, 2015

Mikajy Natiora logo

Mikajy Natiora combines research and community outreach to save lemurs in northwest Madagascar.

Supporting lemur conservation through research and community outreach

Outreach Mikajy Natiora

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?

Carnival Mikajy Natiora

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

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.

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AEECL

By on January 20, 2015

AAECL LogoAEECL (Association Européenne pour l’Étude et la Conservation des Lémuriens) conserves lemurs in northwest Madagascar through innovative capacity building, community outreach, and on-the-ground research programs.

Supporting Lemur Conservation through Community Programming, Research, and Supporting Lemurs in Captivity

A female Blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons).

A female Blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons).

AEECL has been conducting community-based conservation programs on the Sahamalaza Peninsula in northwest Madagascar since 2000. AEECL supports lemur conservation—especially that of the Blue-eyed black lemur, which may be extinct in the next 11 years—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 propagation.

What Lemur Species does AEECL Protect?

AEECL is heavily focused on the Sahamalaza Peninsula which is home to several lemur species, including:

  • Blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons)
  • Sahamalaza sportive lemur (Lepilemur sahamalazensis)

How does AEECL protect lemur habitat?

Reforestation

AEECL works with local communities to conduct community-based reforestation. AEECL’s programs planted over 111,000 trees around 14 villages in 2013 alone, often 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.

Constructing a fire break with the help of local communities.

Patrolling Forests

AEECL works 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, AEECL works 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.

Partnering with Local Communities

The majority of AAECL’s projects are designed to address the needs of local communities. AAECL always considers and ask local communities’ opinions before designed or implementing a project or making programmatic decisions.

Eco-tourism

World Environment Day parade with local authorities.

World Environment Day parade with local authorities.

AEECL believes that lemur conservation is more effective when local communities  benefit—directly and indirectly—from the national park.

Since 2013, AEECL has been working to increase local capacity to accommodate tourists by building several key facilities, including housing and solar paneling. They have made significant progress in turning the Sahamalaza Peninsula into a tourist destination by working with local communities to build accommodations that could house tourists.

In addition, AAECL trains members of the local community to become tourist guides, training 33 new guides in 2010 and 2011. They 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

Lemur festival celebrations.

Lemur festival celebrations.

Successful conservation work often requires organizations to address social development issues, like education and healthcare.

Education

AEECL has 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. AEECL also subsidizes the salaries of 60 school teachers, impacting over 2,000 students.

Health

AEECL has improved the sanitation, hygiene, and health through the construction of six water wells in their surrounding communities. The construction of these wells is extremely important because water shortages have become increasingly common over the past few years.

Reforestation outreach in rural Malagasy communities.

Reforestation outreach in rural Malagasy communities.

Environmental Outreach

AEECL also works on a variety of local environmental awareness initiatives, organizing activities for World Environment Day and the World Lemur Festival. A variety of activities are planned to increase environmental awareness, including parades, speeches, radio quizzes, sports events, and community dance events.

The AEECL is one of the main funders and organizers of 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.

 

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