One
of the biggest reef complexes in the world extends over 450 kilometers
between Androaka and Morombe in the southwest of Madagascar. The Toliara
reef system is made up of barrier and fringing reefs, shallow lagoons,
and abyssal slopes. It is one of very few places in the world inhabited
by the coelacanth, a 400-million-year-old species of fish. Over 6,000
different species have been identified, including at least thirteen
species of sharks, four species of marine turtles, and eleven species of
cetaceans.
WCS research on
cetaceans has indicated that this region is active breeding habitat for
humpback whales (equivalent in importance to the Antongil Bay region),
hosts the highest diversity of cetacean species documented anywhere in
Madagascar, and there are rare reports of critically endangered blue
whales in near-shore waters. The Vezo people who live in this coastal
region practice a traditional lifestyle that is almost entirely
dependent on the coral reefs and relied on fishing on near-shore coral
reefs as their sole source of income.
THREATS
With
400,000 inhabitants and almost half of Madagascar’s traditional fishers
living along the coastline, human pressure on this seascape has
increased dramatically in recent years through population growth,
growing market demand for marine products (octopus, sea cucumbers, shark
fins etc.), and long-term deficiencies in governance, law enforcement,
and resource management.
The
combination of these factors has contributed to overexploitation across
the seascape of Toliara, deteriorating the living standards of fishing
communities. Compounding these challenges, the reefs of southwest
Madagascar are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change;
hence improvements in fisheries management are critical to boost both
social and ecological resilience. Also, in the southwest of Madagascar,
traditional Vezo fishermen opportunistically hunt protected species such
as marine turtles and coastal dolphins for local consumption and sale
of meat or turtle shell.
Responses
WCS’s
objective in the Toliara Seascape is to improve small-scale fisheries
management, promote conservation measures that are essential for the
survival of the reef complex, and ensure sustainable livelihoods for the
village communities that live in the zone. From 2003 to 2008, WCS has
been supporting, with other partners such as Blue Ventures and
Madagascar’s Institute of Marine Sciences (IHSM), the implementation of
the first community-based marine protected area of Madagascar around
Andavadoaka (Velondriake MPA).
As a direct response to
the treat on coastal dolphins, since 2007 WCS has been working with
local partners to establish the community-based Anakao Association for
the Protection of Whales and Dolphins (known locally as the FMTF), and
has supported this association in the development of local traditional
laws related to cetacean conservation, and the creation of an education
and awareness raising program in the local villages.
Since
2008 WCS has been working with local partners to create a new
community-managed marine protected area (MPA) called Soariake (meaning
“Beautiful Sea”), which is located 85 km to the north of Toliara and
spans a total area of 38,293 hectares – that includes 12 short-term
octopus marine reserves that are formalized through local traditional
law (Dina), and managed by local communities. Community partners are
supported to manage and protect the MPA, participate in community
control and surveillance committees, and are engaged in monitoring of
fish catch trends in the MPA. WCS also works with communities and
private sector partners to develop sustainable value chains based around
sea cucumber and seaweed farming that increase household incomes and
reduce pressure on fish stocks.