Reef Doctor is Cleaning Up!

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Every week we perform beach clean-ups in Ifaty with a group of Reef Doctor interns and volunteers, and children from the village. We come across a wide range of litter including diapers, pieces of glass, plastic wrappers, plastic bottles, clothes, bags and fishing nets. Over the past three months we collected over 700 kg of litter just from the beach in Ifaty! And yet, it is still not a clean beach. The majority of the litter found is clothes, while 12% includes disposed fishing gear used by the local fishermen including fishing nets, mosquito nets, plastic bottles and flip flops used as floaters and buoys, and batteries used for torches during night fishing activities. Besides this a lot of plastic for domestic use is also found.

beach clean

The problem in Ifaty is, that due to lack of knowledge and infrastructure, garbage is not disposed of properly. The disposal of all kinds of garbage is generally through burning or burying it in a pit. This means it’s not contained and can easily end up somewhere else in the village and on the beach, and eventually in the ocean.

Marine litter is not just a local problem. It is one of the biggest environmental challenges the world faces today. The majority of marine litter consists of plastic. Plastic production has increased dramatically since 1950, which is related to a growing population. Globally over 300 million tons of plastic was produced in 2014. Plastic is designed to be durable, however, it is commonly used for single use. It takes a long time to degrade and if not disposed of and handled properly, plastic waste litters the marine environment, causing damage to marine life.

Marine animals suffer from marine litter by entanglement, suffocation and ingestion. Entanglement occurs most often with species such as whales, turtles, dolphins, seals, dugongs, sharks and large fish. In 2015, over 30,000 cases of entanglement were recorded. Entanglement can cause animals to drown, starve, or die from strangulation or infected injuries. ‘Ghost fishing’ is a major cause of the entanglement of marine animals; animals caught unintentionally by abandoned fishing gear. The presence of marine litter also results in ingestion by marine animals. A review in 2014 revealed marine litter was found in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals and 40% of seabird species examined. The effects include partial blockage, damage to the digestive tract and reduction in foraging. Which all can result in poor nutrition and a decline in health. Marine life can also be harmed through suffocation. Large items, including discarded or lost fishing gear, quickly sink to the sea floor. These items can smother the seabed, affecting marine organisms and the benthic composition, and turn sediments anoxic.

Besides the negative ecological impacts, marine litter affects ecosystem services – the benefits humans have from the natural environment. Economic activities rely on the ecosystem services from the marine environment. In the Bay of Ranobe people rely on the marine environment for fishing and tourism.

Clean-ups are a good method to reduce litter. But its much more effective to prevent litter at its source. Therefore, we intend to implement the first waste management programme in Ifaty. Our goal is to keep Ifaty clean. It is important that the community is involved and that they understand the importance of the programme. We have already had a successful meeting with important members of the community who have approval implementation of the programme, a great first step!

Through educating the community, provision of garbage bins, and implementation of a collecting and recycling scheme, we can effectively reduce marine littler, contributing to healthy marine ecosystems in the Bay of Ranobe and ensuring that the community can continue to rely on fisheries in the future. Additionally, this project will offer the opportunity to expand the skills within the community, creating alternative livelihoods and income through the waste collection and recycling scheme.

To get the project started, we are launching an important fundraising campaign in the next few days, please stay tuned!

Article written by RD Intern Simone de Graaf

International Women’s Day 2018

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International Women’s Day was held on March 8 all over the world. This day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It’s a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. It is also known as the United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. Last Thursday, women were celebrated throughout the world, and the Bay of Ranobe and Ifaty were no exceptions.

Madagascar is still a very patriarchal society, especially in rural areas, and a lot of efforts still need to be done to reach gender parity. Women tend to get married earlier (even if the legal age for marriage has been changed from 15 to 18 years old), and once they get married, their education stops. Early marriage usually leads to early pregnancies and according to the statistics of the World Economic Forum, more than one teenager out of ten in Madagascar has already been pregnant. Early pregnancies can lead to health problems for the mother and the child and sometimes to maternal or child mortality, especially in rural areas where the access to medical care can be difficult. In Madagascar, International Women’s Day is a holiday for all Malagasy women and thus they don’t go to work but join the celebrations.

Every village in the bay has its own women’s association, and March 8 is definitely the most important day in their yearly activities. They spend months gathering money for their costumes and weeks to prepare their songs and dances for D-day. This year, Women’s Day was celebrated in Ifaty. The women’s associations of the 13 villages of the commune of Belalanda came to Ifaty for the occasion. The celebration spread over two days, the 7th and the 8th.

A couple of activities were organized on the 7th and the atmosphere was already very festive! The women’s associations of the neighbouring villages started arriving in the morning. In the early afternoon a religious ceremony was organized, followed by a conference and debate on the theme of the woman’s place in the Malagasy society and in the nation.

Our Reef Doctor team joined the women in the afternoon for the planting event. Everyone joined together at the débarcadère for a brief speech by the mayor of Belalanda and the Regional Director of Population, then went to the football field to collect the saplings and headed to the three planting locations. One planting was held at the EPP Ifaty (Public Primary School), another in the hospital yard and the last one along the road near the rugby field. Reef Doctor provided 117 saplings, and Toliara Sands also contributed saplings. In total, around 400 saplings were planted, from a couple of species, jatropha (satra satra), beefwood (filao) and eucalyptus (kininy). Our team was appointed to the EPP Ifaty. When we arrived at the school, the party was already in full swing, with music and the kids and women dancing, so we naturally joined them and danced for a bit with our hands full of saplings. After a few minutes, we got down to business and started planting around the school’s fence. Everyone was highly motivated and the kids observed us with their curious eyes and this craving to learn something new! This prelude of the International Women’s Day was already a great experience.

Thursday morning, the 8th of March, the Reef Doctor women’s team left the camp early with the banner to join all the other women’s associations for the parade. The starting point was at the EPP, where we met with Ifaty’s women’s association who asked us to place ourselves right behind them, as second in the parade! With a little delay, which is probably part of the Malagasy tradition, the procession set off towards the football field, where all the guests are waiting sitting in the shade on a tribune. All of the associations, one after the other, paraded in front of the tribune before the authorities and guests, before lining up, one next to the other, facing the tribune. After a quick speech, it was time for the women’s associations to show their talents.

Ifaty’s women’s association got the ball rolling with their very well-prepared choreography. This year they decided to dress up as police officers and had choreography on that theme. After the first dance, they started singing and dancing and we were proud to see the work and effort they had put into this celebration! Indeed, their performance was loudly applauded and many people joined them to dance with them for a few seconds or minutes in this incredibly cheering atmosphere. Once their show finished, all the other associations came in front of the authorities, one after the other, to show what they had prepared for the occasion. Around twenty different associations were present, the women’s association of the 13 villages of the commune of Belalanda, as well as a few other associations, such as the women’s association of the VOI Mamelo Honko, a few teachers’ associations, a farmers’ association and the association of the disabled of Belalanda.

Once all associations finished their performances and after a few speeches were given by the authorities, the guests headed towards the débarcadère, where a lunch prepared by Ifaty’s women’s association was waiting for them. After a well-deserved break, the celebrations continued with a football game opposing the women’s team of Tsivonoe and Belalanda. At half time, Belalanda had a head start and was leading one to zero, but Tsivonoe gained ground during the second half and ended up winning three to one, to the delight of all supporters! The winning team and the supporters running proudly across the field and around the village closed the celebrations for the day. The women, pretty exhausted after the day, all went to have a refreshing drink and continued to celebrate this special day dedicated to them throughout the night.

Blog by RD Comms Officer Karin Moehler

Photo credit: Antoine Lechevalier & Karin Moehler

Ifaty’s Women Committed to Make Their Village Healthier

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The women’s group in Ifaty was created six years ago. You’ve already seen some aspects of their work in our blog, but this time we’ll drive you to the core of the women’s group.

Céline Robert is originally from Saint Augustin but she grew up in Andrevo where she met her husband. He was working in Ifaty so they moved to Ifaty in 1975 where they got married. Together, they have 8 children, two boys and six girls, from 18 to 40 years old. She had her first child when she was 16, and that probably influenced the position she has today towards young women and early pregnancy.

Céline is a determined woman with a big heart. You can tell that from the very first moment you meet her. She might seem a bit strict or severe sometime, but she is quick to laugh and always takes care of those around her. She is one of the most dedicated women in Ifaty. After seeing Blandine, a woman living in Mangily, create a women’s association in 2009, she decided to do the same in Ifaty. In 2011, she founded the women’s association and has been its President (unanimously) ever since.

The real name of the association is FIVEMIVOI (Fikambanan’ny Vehivahy Mikarakara sy Vonona eto Ifaty), which means “Association of Women Prepared and Ready for Ifaty”, but they are also commonly known as “Vehivavy” or Women. The requirements to be part of the women’s group are to be a woman over 18 years old, to be respectful and willing to help others. Before entering the association, you need to make a request, accept the rules and regulations of the association and be able to participate in the membership fees, which are of 1.000 Ariary per year per person. Most of the women over 18 in Ifaty are married and all the association’s members are indeed married and already have children.

From 20 women at the creation of the association, they are now over 60 members. They are rarely all present as they have different activities linked to their families, but there is a core of 20 to 30 women always present and motivated. The association aims to gather and represent all women in Ifaty and the member’s ages range from 20 to 56.

As founder and President of FIVEMIVOI, Céline is the centre and the driving force of the women’s group. She gathers the women and keeps them motivated. Since the creation of the association, they have always been committed to do big clean-ups in the village to make it cleaner and healthier. They also raise awareness on hygiene, as they are all mothers and responsible of their children in a country where the child mortality rate is still very high.

The association also tries to keep girls and young women away from prostitution, as in areas where there is no work and when girls are not married they can easily turn towards prostitution to generate an income. Following that line, they position themselves firmly against early pregnancy and see 20 years old as a good age to start getting pregnant. Early pregnancies are still a big problem in Madagascar, where one third of maternal deaths are related to teenage pregnancies (UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund – 2015). The Vehivavy believe that education is the key to limit prostitution and early pregnancies, as girls should go to school and learn until the age of majority.

FIVEMIVOI works on serious topics to help the development of the village, but they also have a good sense of humour and like to make people laugh. During leisure time, like football games, they walk through the village in their football outfit and do some kind of show to make people laugh. Sometimes they also use their outfit to actually play and face the teams of Belalanda, Belitsaky or Mangily.

They believe that everything in the village is closely tied and that if the village develops itself, the children will also develop themselves and the communities will change their reasoning and behaviour. This in turn will improve the standard of living, the level of schooling, affecting both economic and social conditions. What Céline really wishes for Ifaty, is that it becomes an exemplary village, an inspiration for other villages.

Blog and photos by RD Comms Officer Karin Moehler

Ifaty Youth Association: Taking the Future of the Village into their Own Hands

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One day, a young teacher decided to make a change in his village, Ifaty. His name was Martin/Edmond. After witnessing the children of his hometown slowly sliding towards an unhealthy and destructive behaviour, he decided to react. He joined with his friend, Jean, who studied for a year at the University of Toliara, and together they started thinking of how they could work to improve the future of Ifaty’s children.

After some talks, they had the idea of creating an association, gathering young people of the village to make the voice of youth be heard. Before setting the association up, they went to see the leaders of the village – the president of the fokontany and the eldest – to obtain their authorisation. Once they had it, they started talking to other villagers to see who would be interested in taking part in the association. It didn’t take too long to gather 25 motivated people (20-30 year olds) and create a bureau; ‘Fimpizay’ was then born on the 21st of July!

Fimpizay stands for Fikambany mpianatse zanaka Ifaty, which means in broad terms youth association. They have mainly two objectives, aimed at minors, especially from 11 to 13 years old. The first one is to reduce early pregnancy, which is very common in Madagascar, especially in rural areas. According to UNICEF, 37% of Malagasy girls aged from 15 to 19 years old have early pregnancies. Early pregnancies are a public health problem and contribute to taking girls away from education and the labour market. Their second objective is to reduce child delinquency, meaning reducing the number of children partying at an early age, drinking rum, smoking cigarettes and taking drugs.

Since the association has only just been established, they haven’t performed many activities yet. Nevertheless, after introducing themselves through a meeting in the village (the traditional fivoriana), they decided to organise a big village and beach clean, to show their commitment to the villagers and establish their credibility. They collected everything non biodegradable, such as plastic, nets and batteries and brought them to Reef Doctor on our demand, so we could have a look at the rubbish in the village and try to think of some ideas of things to do with them.

We already outlined the association’s two main objectives, but their action goes beyond that. They also aim to raise awareness among children about the environment and the importance to preserve it to ensure a sustainable future. By including them in activities such as beach and village cleans, they encourage them not to litter and teach them about the environmental impacts. 

Fimpizay works with the women’s group of Ifaty to make their village cleaner, healthier and nicer to live in. We, at Reef Doctor, are now helping them to formalise their association so they can apply for some funding. They also wish to make a video showing child delinquency to play in the village to raise awareness and we will assist them with this. If it works well here, they are thinking of giving the video to other villages to play in their own cinema or schools to raise awareness.

The Youth Association works towards creating a brighter future for Ifaty’s children, where they will be their own leaders working on social development and sustainability and we are very proud of them and happy to help them achieve their goals!

Blog and photos by RD Comms Officer Karin Moehler 

veg garden boxes

Addressing Food Security Issues in Arid South Madagascar: Reef Doctor Vegetable Garden Update

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Madagascar is amongst the poorest countries in Africa. As estimated by the World Food Program (WFP), over 90% of the population lives below the international poverty line and nearly half of all children under the age of five are malnourished due to a lack of access to and diversity of food.

The Toliara Province, a semi-arid region in the Southwest of Madagascar, is at particular risk of droughts and has the highest rate of poverty in the country. A recent assessment by Reef Doctor, confirms this trend. According to the study, nine out of ten households in the Bay of Ranobe are living in multidimensional poverty (for further information click here). A 2016 joint assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and WFP found that 1.2 million people living in South Madagascar are suffering from food insecurity. This is mainly due to a high risk of natural disasters, political instability, limited investment in social infrastructure, and environmental degradation such as soil erosion, coupled with an increasing population and migration towards the more resource abundant coast.

sand dune village

Under such developments it becomes obvious that securing food access and diversity is crucial for the well-being of locals living in this area of the world, and Reef Doctor is currently addressing this problem. Back in early February we established a vegetable garden on the Reef Doctor site as a pilot project. The aim of this project is to pass on our experiences and knowledge of vegetable cultivation in this harsh arid climate to local communities. We hope to encourage them to establish their own vegetable gardens to an attempt to address the over-exploitation-based and climate change driven food security issues affecting the region. Below our intern Lara Birkart gives us an update of project progress so far…..

“We are pleased to report tremendous progress so far! The seeds that were planted between the 10th and 17th March sprouted about a month afterwards with an early-bird courgette that we harvested in May. Nearly three months have passed and there are two more courgettes and several green peppers, carrots, beetroot and lettuce growing. At the start of the project, beds were watered generously twice a day (before sunrise and after sunset). With increasing plant strength, we cut down watering to once a day. Considering that fresh water is a scarcity in this part of Madagascar and not easily attainable, it is encouraging to see that this relatively small amount seems to be sufficient for the veggies to grow well.veg garden boxes

veg garden maintenance

However, we have encountered several problems during the creation of the vegetable garden. First, after two months, hardly any of the vegetables that were planted in Boxes 4 and 5 sprouted (except for one lettuce standing strong). This might have been due to the fact that the soil mixture in those boxes was not optimal for the vegetables chosen (mainly herbs and green beans). Second, due to inappropriate planting techniques Boxes 2 and 3 were over-crowded with multiple plants sprouting from one spot. After allowing some time for growth, Boxes 1 and 5 were used for transplantation and currently hold two carrots, seven beetroot, twelve aubergines, and seventeen tomato plants.

On the 8th of June, Kasen, another intern, and myself started construction of another four beds to continue experimentation. The objective is to grow various vegetables (such as green pepper, carrot, beetroot and tomatoes) and herbs (e.g. parsley, coriander) in different soil mixtures of sand, red sand, Zebu manure, and compost. This will allow us to determine which plant grows best under which condition. Information gathered and lessons learnt will be shared with communities when the time comes to support them in establishing their own vegetable gardens.

construction of veg plots

In addition, on the weekend of the 3rd and 4th June Beth, another intern, and myself checked the garden for further progress and were amazed to see how much bigger many of the veggies have become. We harvested four green peppers, one courgette and several leaves of ‘Anamamy Be‘ (a plant indigenous to Madagascar) and prepared our own lunch. After months of care, harvesting your own food is an incredibly rewarding experience and we are very proud of our garden! We look forward to our efforts being utilised when transferring this pilot project into a large-scale community-based food security project.”

lara preparing harvested veg

cooking with harvested veg

 

Blog by RD intern Lara Birkart

Photo credits: Lara Birkart, Beth Dickens, and Karin Moehler