Latest news with #Menabe
Zawya
15-07-2025
- General
- Zawya
Madagascar launches $7 million initiative to protect coasts from climate change
Madagascar has officially launched a landmark initiative aimed at enhancing climate resilience by restoring critical coastal ecosystems and improving livelihoods across vulnerable regions. Nearly 100,000 people are expected to benefit directly across four key coastal regions—Boeny, Menabe, Diana, and Atsimo Atsinanana—where climate impacts are already threatening both livelihoods and biodiversity. The project, Scaling Up Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Coastal Areas in Madagascar, will be executed by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development with a USD 7.1 million grant from the Global Environment Facility and a cofinancing of USD 27 million. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) assisted the government with developing the project and will act as the implementing agency, as a continuation of a long-standing partnership on resilience-building and strengthened environmental stewardship Madagascar's coastal ecosystems—mangroves, coral reefs, and coastal forests—serve as natural buffers against rising seas, intensifying cyclones, and coastal erosion. Yet these ecosystems are under growing pressure from deforestation, overfishing, and a changing climate. Coastal zones support more than 75% of the local population by providing, for example, marine species for fisheries or valuable non-timber forest products. The new project aims to enhance the resilience of both ecosystems and communities through nature-based solutions, conventionally referred to as ecosystem-based adaptation. In close coordination with the Regional Directorates for Environment and Sustainable Development (DREDD), the project will support integrated coastal zone management structures, enhance national and local adaptation coordination, and provide revised tools and plans to integrate EbA at the regional and municipal levels. The initiative will restore 3,000 hectares of mangroves and coastal forests and rehabilitate 2,000 hectares of degraded watersheds using community-based approaches. Over the course of the project, almost 100,000 people are expected to benefit directly from ecosystem-based adaptation interventions. It will also support the creation of 20 ecosystem-based businesses, with a focus on empowering women and youth through access to training, technical support, and equipment. These businesses will span climate-resilient sectors such as sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, beekeeping, ecotourism, and rainfed agriculture. An official high-level launch ceremony was held on 15 July at Hôtel Le Louvre Antaninarenina, bringing together representatives from national ministries, UN agencies, civil society, and development partners. In her opening speech at the ceremony, the Secretary General of Environment and Sustainable Development Hahitantsoa Tokinirina Razafimahefa, said: 'Restoring mangroves means protecting the coastline, supporting sustainable small-scale fishing, creating natural carbon sinks, and preserving nesting sites for rare species. In other words, it means acting on adaptation, mitigation, food security, and biodiversity conservation—all at once.' Paz Lopez-Rey, UNEP's Programme Management Officer for the new project, said: 'The project will strengthen local governance for integrated coastal zone management, while ensuring the integration of ecosystem-based adaptation into key regional and municipal planning tools. But it will go further than that; it will lead to a national strategy to scale up ecosystem-based adaptation in other vulnerable coastal areas of the country.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
CBC
25-04-2025
- General
- CBC
Three new lemur pups born at Calgary Zoo
The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo is celebrating the birth of three black-and-white ruffed lemur pups, which were born at the beginning of the month. The lemurs are one of the most endangered species of primates in the world, according to the zoo. Five-year-old mama Eny gave birth to the trio on April 6, marking her second successful litter with 10-year-old mate Menabe. In 2023, the two lemurs also became the parents of Sariaka, the first black-and-white ruffed lemur born at the zoo in decades. The zoo says the pups have yet to undergo a full health exam and be sexed, but its animal care, health and welfare team are visually assessing the lemurs daily. Jennifer Godwin, an animal care manager at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, says staff are being cautiously optimistic about the lemurs, but the animals are showing encouraging signs so far. "The pups are bright-eyed, active and strong. We're monitoring them closely, but from a distance, to give the family space to bond during these critical first weeks," Godwin said. "Eny and Menabe are doing an incredible job — they're attentive, calm and clearly know exactly how to care for their little ones." All species of lemur are native to Madagascar, and the zoo says the black-and-white ruffed lemur faces severe threats from habitat loss and hunting. The lemur's population has declined by more than 80 per cent over the past 21 years, according to the zoo. The animals are one of the few primates that build nests for their young, and lemur pups are born with their eyes open. The babies start moving around within hours, though they rely on their mother and the nest for the first few weeks. Eny and Menabe were brought together through the Species Survival Plan, a program meant to ensure healthy and genetically diverse populations of animals in human care. Eny was transferred from an accredited zoo in the Czech Republic to Calgary in 2021 with the hope that she and Menabe would help strengthen the limited gene pool of black-and-white ruffed lemurs in North America, the zoo says. "Every birth of a black-and-white ruffed lemur is a beacon of hope for this critically endangered species," Godwin said. "With wild populations facing mounting threats, these pups are a vital lifeline — helping preserve genetic diversity and offering a future for their species. Through collaborative efforts like the Species Survival Plan, we're not only caring for animals at the zoo, we're contributing to the survival of species on the brink." The zoo adds that while the trio of pups bond with Eny and Menabe, they will not be visible to visitors.
