05 March 2024
Madagascar: MEDD-AFD- Conference on Biodiversity: Towards an Agenda of Solutions
As part of the visit to Madagascar by Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of Agence Française de Développement (AFD), a major conference on biodiversity was organized on Friday March 1, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) and the University of Antananarivo.
In front of a packed room of Madagascan biodiversity stakeholders, including the MEDD, MINAE and representatives of the French Embassy in Madagascar, including the Ambassador, the speakers shared issues, challenges and hopes for the conservation of Madagascan biodiversity.
Round-table discussion on the solutions agenda
A round-table discussion followed, proposing innovative solutions such as private sector involvement, local community participation, protected area conservation and the search for sustainable financing.
The Varuna Biodiversity Program, funded by the Agence Française de Développement and coordinated by Expertise France, represented by its coordinator Mme Blanche Gomez, presented its initiative to set up regional cooperation aimed at gathering and promoting knowledge, tools and expertise for the sustainable management of biodiversity in the south-west Indian Ocean.
Debate on the theme of “Development and Biodiversity
One of the highlights of the day was the debate between Mr. Max Andonirina Fontaine, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and the CEO of AFD, on how to develop and support actions to protect biodiversity for the benefit of the region’s inhabitants.
Biodiversity” exhibition and winning photos from the Varuna 2023 photo competition
Participants also had the opportunity to discover or rediscover the “Biodiversities” exhibition designed by the Varuna Biodiversité_Sciences de la durabilité project (IRD and Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle), as well as the winning photos from the Varuna 2023 photo competition on the theme “Humans at the heart of biodiversity“, won by four Madagascan students.
In conclusion, this conference on biodiversity in Madagascar was a crucial event for raising awareness and mobilizing stakeholders to put biodiversity at the heart of decision-making.
To find out more about our 8 biodiversity preservation projects in the South-West Indian Ocean region: click here.
