Emma Gibbons

ReefDoctor's Miamby Fano turtle programme, in collaboration with the Ifaty public school, held the inaugural Turtle Day on 19th November 2009 to expand on the marine education curriculum currently being taught.

The focal point of the day was moving education out of the classroom and making it interactive, fun and practical to the young generation of Vezo whose lives are so intricately linked to the health of the coral reef ecosystem. Presentations and games brought subjects like turtle ecology, ecosystem function and the role of the food web to life and emphasised the importance of the marine environment and the species that inhabit this unique and fragile system.

Turtle Day was a great success and children from the local community were able to interact with ReefDoctor staff and volunteers as well as students from the local marine university, Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines (IH.SM) who stood out as role-models for an alternative future working in the reef environment.

The Vezo pledge; the Miamby Fano project is going stronger than ever. After finishing an extensive tour of the 13 villages in the Bay of Ranobe, ReefDoctor is pleased to announce the remarkable achievement of the Miamby Fano project.

ReefDoctor has been assessing and recording in each village the strength and impact of the turtle fishery and the distribution of turtle products. In response to this information, every person involved was invited to a Fokontany (village elder) meeting to address the conservation of the marine turtle and discuss ways that the Vezo could benefit from the preservation and protection of this remarkable marine species, resulting in the Vezo Pledge.

The Vezo Pledge is a promise given by all 13 villages within the Bay of Ranobe stating…

‘We the people of …. village pledge to conserve and protect the heritage and knowledge of the Vezo people by the conservation of the marine environment important to our ancestors.

We the people of … village pledge to participate in the conservation and protection of sea turtles so our children’s children know what it is to be Vezo, grow up with the knowledge of our ancestors and become Vezo.’

This is a great triumph for the project and a critical step in raising the awareness of the stakeholders. We hope that this achievement will not only emphasise the significant traditional value of the marine turtle, but also stimulate the younger generation into realising the importance of conservation of the marine environment on which they depend.

Read more about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.