SEED Madagascar

Over eight years ago, in 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) began to
publish its fifth assessment report, releasing data about the state of climate change. In this assessment,
the panel reported findings of unprecedented warming across the land and sea, the loss of ice sheets,
rapidly increased rates of sea-level rise, and an alarming concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere¹. Scientists warned that, without urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the
effects of climate change would only increase, spelling potential disaster for life on Earth.

That same year, in 2013, Project Oratsimba was just starting out. SEED Madagascar – then called
Azafady – was working with a small group of fishers in Sainte Luce to begin a community-led model to
manage the local lobster fishery. In parallel to the IPCC report, the fishers of Sainte Luce had been
noticing changes in the natural world for some time. They saw that lobster stocks were dwindling, and
despite putting in more effort, they were catching less and less. Worry was spreading that without
action, the lobster fishery may collapse, and the community would lose a crucial source of income and a
way of life.

In the eight years since these events – since the IPCC released its findings to the world, and Oratsimba
began to gain momentum – a lot has changed.

In those eight years, global temperatures have increased by an average of 0.19 degrees Celsius, the seas
have risen nearly 30mm, and humans have released an additional 344 billion tons of carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere^2,3,4.

Despite being responsible for less than 0.01% of the world’s emissions⁵, Madagascar has lived through
the harsh reality of these changes. The country is currently experiencing its worst drought in 40 years;
extreme weather is becoming more severe and less predictable; and in the south, what some are calling
the world’s first climate-induced famine is intensifying^6,7. In fact, Madagascar is ranked amongst the 20
countries most vulnerable to climate change in the entire world⁸.

While the international community has been seeing the facts and figures of climate change for many
years now, the fishers of Oratsimba have witnessed what these increased emissions, extreme weather,
and drought mean for them and their loved ones. Fishers have been seeing more erratic weather, with
stormy seas meaning they are not able to fish as consistently, making paydays more unpredictable.
Other livelihoods such as cultivating crops, which many households employ to supplement fishing, are
struggling, both in the face of climate change and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, these struggles have been met with incredible determination and resilience from the
communities of the coastal Anosy region. In the same eight years that we saw the climate crisis
intensify, the individuals involved in Project Oratsimba made great strides to protect the productivity
and longevity of their lobster fishery, with positive effects rippling throughout the region. What began as
a small community movement led by 15 fishers from Sainte Luce grew into the establishment of
multiple Locally-Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs), involving actors from all levels of the community--not
only were fishers involved in working towards fishery sustainability, but the project also engaged national and international researchers, government officials, and grassroots marine conservation networks.

Through the project, community members were able to connect with the MIHARI network,
Madagascar’s national network of LMMAs, gaining a supportive community of fellow fishers and
practitioners. Ideas were able to be shared on a regional and national level, with fishers connecting to best practices and able to brainstorm solutions to shared challenges. The communities of Sainte Luce
and Elodrato were also able to connect with DRAEP (the regional fisheries ministry) with linkages to the
government garnering support for their efforts, and bringing visibility to the work that fishers were
doing within their communities.

Knowledge sharing and learning were abounding when project participants visited the Tulear region for a cross-visit. There, fishers were able to learn about how other LMMAs in Madagascar were run, and how community management benefitted both them and the ecosystems on which they relied.

Crucially, women, who historically did not have a voice at the table when it came to fishery decisions,
were included and heard throughout Project Oratsimba. Through the Marine Ambassador programme, six women were trained in public speaking, confidence-building, and leadership, becoming more vocal in their communities and highlighting the role women have in managing household finances and contributing to pre-and post-harvest processes in the lobster fishery.

These efforts culminated in the creation of two No-Take Zones (NTZs), one in Sainte Luce, and one in
Elodrato. With the positions and closure periods chosen by fishers, community buy-in is high, and their
commitment to the recovery of lobster stocks is evident. Through community management, protective
measures have been put in place, immense capacity has been built, and awareness was raised about the
lobster fishery and the communities’ efforts to address its decline. Not only will this strengthened
governance and stewardship help stem the pressure caused by overfishing and unsustainable harvest
methods, but they have also helped build the communities’ ability to respond to climate change.

While the international community debated emission limits and politicians made empty promises, the
Malagasy fishers living through the climate emergency took matters into their own hands and,
supported by SEED, were able to build resilience, strengthening their ability to adapt to and respond to
climate change and other threats to the fishery. Their efforts have been monumental, and, looking back
at where their work started out eight years ago, their accomplishments serve as an example for fishing
communities in the region. In fact, other fishing communities have seen the success of the project and
voiced their desire to create their own LMMAs, with one lobster fishing community to the north,
Enakao, even presenting an outline of their intended NTZ.

The resilience of the fishing communities of Madagascar is admirable, but stories of hope should not overshadow the fact that these communities have had no choice but to be resilient because of the reckless burning of fossil fuels by the rest of the world. The fishers of Sainte Luce and Elodrato have
been leaders in their communities, and their actions, which started out to address regional fisheries
challenges, are now facing national-, and global-scale pressures. Continuing to support them in this
endeavour is more important than ever, and expanding the impact of Project Oratsimba along the Anosy coast will ensure similar capacity is built throughout the regional fishery. However, we should not lose
sight of the actions and choices that are being made by the world’s top polluters. The action (or
inaction) that is taken today is having real and intensifying effects on communities throughout the
globe, and the Anosy region is no exception.

The past eight years of Project Oratsimba have been full of learning and hope, beginning at and driven
by the communities SEED works with. Here’s to tackling the next eight years with similar conviction - and
to each of us, whether we are from Madagascar, the UK, or across the globe, to tackle the climate crisis
with similar drive, determination, and community spirit.

With special thanks to the generous supporters of Project Oratsimba through the years: FAO Smartfish,
Blue Ventures, 10% for the Ocean, and the Darwin Initiative.

Works Cited: 

1. Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex
and Midgley, P.M. (2013). IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The
Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United
Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
2. Lindsey, Rebecca (2020). “Climate Change: Global Sea Level.” NOAA Climate.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-
level [Accessed 24 November 2021].
3. Lindsey, Rebecca, and Dahlman, LuAnn (2021). “Climate Change: Global Temperature,” NOAA
Climate., https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-
global-temperature. [Accessed 24 November 2021].
4. Ritchie, Hannah and Roser, Max (2020). "CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions".
OurWorldInData.org. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions
[Accessed 28 December 2021].
5. Ibid.
6. ReliefWeb (2021). Madagascar - Grand Sud Flash Appeal (January - May 2021). UN Office for the
Coordination of Human Affairs (OHCA). https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-
grand-sud-flash-appeal-january-may-2021 [Accessed 28 January 2022].
7. Amnesty International (2021). “Madagascar: Global leaders must act urgently to save lives and
protect rights threatened by climate crisis.”
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/10/madagascar-global-leaders-must-act-
urgently-to-save-lives/ [Accessed 28 December 2021].
8. Ibid.