Alaotran Gentle Lemur Project

Background

The critically endangered Alaotran gentle lemur is found only in the marshes of Lake Alaotra, the largest lake in Madagascar located in the central-eastern highlands. The gentle lemur is one of the only primates in the world confined to a wetland, living in the papyrus marshes. The species is classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ according to IUCN criteria due to its extremely restricted geographical and perceived rapid population decline. Thanks to extensive outreach work around the lake, the lemur is no longer hunted. However it is still threatened by habitat conversion.

The Alaotra region is Madagascar’s most important rice growing area while fish is the main source of protein for the local people. However, environmental degradation, including marsh burning, over-fishing, invasive species and erosion, is impacting negatively on both wildlife and livelihoods. Since 1996, the Durrell Madagascar Programme has worked with partners, particularly the regional Water and Forests service and the Fisheries service, in addition to the key villages around the lake, to raise awareness of the biodiversity of Alaotra and the ecological and economic importance of the wetlands and to catalyse action to conserve this valuable ecosystem. Since 2000 Durrell have been carrying out annual participatory ecological monitoring, community outreach and helped support numerous small scale development projects in lake side communities.

Protected Area Project

Through the work of the Trust the Lake Alaotra Protected Area has been designated to conserve the lake, marshes and surrounding watersheds – the critical lemur habitats – and will be enforced from 2009. The protected areas will be managed collaboratively between community groups and government authorities. Some areas will be strictly protected but the majority of the area will be managed for sustainable use to ensure local people benefit from fishing and marsh products in the long term.

Tusk Trust Support

No-take zones covering the main fish spawning areas, adjacent to the marsh habitats of the lemurs, have recently been created to aid the recovery of the lake’s fishery. Thanks to continued support from Tusk Trust, an innovative participatory monitoring scheme is being put in place, which involves local fishermen recording their catches to evaluate the impact of these interventions. Direct involvement of the resource users will hopefully raise awareness of the importance of sustainable management of the marshes and help secure local buy-in for future conservation actions. If successful, the monitoring scheme will be incorporated into the management plan for the Alaotra protected area, and could also be used to assess fisheries elsewhere in Madagascar.

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