Bug bites in Madagascar In the last two years, two insect farming projects have taken off in Madagascar as a way to provide precious protein while alleviating pressure on lemurs and other wild animals hunted for bushmeat. One programme, which promotes itself with a deck of playing cards, encourages rainforest residents in the northeast to farm a bacon-flavoured native planthopper called sakondry. The other focuses … Continue reading Bugs bite in Madagascar
To solve the twin challenges of malnutrition and biodiversity loss in Madagascar, new efforts are promoting edible insects as a way to take pressure off wildlife that people hunt for meat when food is scarce. Read the full story here. Published on Mongabay, 11 July 2019. Image ©Brian Fisher, California Academy of Sciences Continue reading Eat the Insects, Spare the Lemurs
Cricket powder for malnutriton Insects are well-known for their high protein content. In Madagascar, which has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world, a cricket farm is selling cricket powder to humanitarian organisations providing famine relief and free-school meals. Read the full story here. Published in The Telegraph, 24 June 2019. Continue reading Cricket powder for malnutrition
Last chance saloon for Madagascar biodiversity Madagascar’s exceptional biodiversity is on the wane. The country’s new president should seize the opportunity to save it. The men lie perfectly still. Their beige and khaki gear do a good job of blending with the dusty ground; only their black, oversized cameras and lenses stick out. Every few seconds, salvos of shutter clicks reverberate around the camp, each … Continue reading Last chance saloon for Madagascar biodiversity
In a bid to promote forest conservation and boost income in rural areas, British NGO Feedback Madagascar re-introduced the endemic silk moth in the tapia forests of Madagascar. With great success. Listen to the story here. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 From Our Own Correspondent, 21 February 2019. Photo ©Emilie Filou Continue reading Going wild for Madagascar’s wild silk
Deforestation within Menabe Antimena Protected Area, a large swath of unique dry forest ecosystem on Madagascar’s west coast, has increased dramatically in recent years. Slash-and-burn agriculture is the primary driver. Unlike in most places in Madagascar, it isn’t done for subsistence farming but to plant corn, a cash crop traded by a powerful local elite. Conservation groups have teamed up to organize raids that have … Continue reading Illegal corn farming drives deforestation in Menabe, Madagascar
Thanks to its super-fast internet, excellent French and cheap labour, Madagascar has become a business outsourcing hotspot for Francophone companies. Read the full story here. Published in Quartz Africa, 10 January 2019. Photo ©Vivetic. Continue reading Allô Madagascar?
In Kivalo, where cyclones, overfishing and rising seas threaten livelihoods, beekeeping offers an unlikely alternative to fishing. Read the full story here. Published in The Observer and Guardian Global Development, December 2018. Photo ©Emilie Filou, mangrove reforestation in Kivalo. Continue reading Climate adaptation proves the bees’ knees for fishermen in Madagascar
If the health of a democracy were measured only by the number of candidates contesting a presidential election, Madagascar’s would be flourishing: a total of 36 were on the island state’s ballot on November 7th. Yet politics in Madagascar, beset by corruption, is far from healthy. Voters hoping for a change from the old elite may be sorely disappointed by the outcome of a race … Continue reading Madagascar: many candidates, little real choice
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world yet its elections are amongst the most expensive. Read the full story here. Published in African Arguments, 2 October 2018. Continue reading Madagascar: 4 (ex)presidents, 36 candidates and a lot of money
