Project Coordinator, Barren Isles, Madagascar

Blue Ventures

Blue Ventures is an award-winning marine conservation organisation, dedicated to working with local communities to conserve threatened marine environments.
Our highly acclaimed conservation programmes work with some of the world’s poorest coastal communities to develop conservation and alternative income initiatives to protect biodiversity and coastal livelihoods. The results of our work help us to propose new ideas to benefit coastal communities everywhere.
Amongst other achievements Blue Ventures has created the largest community-managed marine reserve in the Indian Ocean - Velondriake - and pioneered ambitious research programmes tackling critical issues facing marine biodiversity and indigenous coastal communities. Blue Ventures’ programme portfolio encompasses marine and fisheries research, sustainable aquaculture, family planning, environmental education and capacity building, fisheries management and protected area development.

Project Overview: Maintirano & Barren Isles Locally Managed Marine Area

The remarkable marine and coastal biodiversity of Madagascar is vital for ecosystem health and local livelihoods, as well as commercial and international fisheries markets. Yet Madagascar’s government agencies often lack the finances and resources to effectively manage the region’s vast coastlines, and overexploitation has contributed to unprecedented degradation of fisheries stocks and marine ecosystem health in recent years. Exacerbating the effects of direct human exploitation are climate change impacts, such as increased frequency and intensity of warm water episodes and severe tropical storms, which have further weakened the resilience and productivity of already stressed ecosystems.

One solution to these management challenges that has proven effective is the development of marine protected areas (MPAs) as locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), a method of management that empowers communities to govern the use of their marine and coastal resources independently. First developed in the South Pacific, LMMAs are also often referred to as community-managed marine areas or community-based MPAs. A wide range of management tools, appropriate to the specific social and environmental context of each area, can be implemented within an LMMA.

The Barren Isles coastal and marine ecosystem has a great diversity of habitats, from oceanic waters immediately off the continental shelf, to deep offshore reefs and shallow coral reefs, to extensive mangrove forests, estuarine marshes, wetlands and coastal dunes surrounded by dense semi-humid tropical forest. Due to a number of ecological and anthropological causes, the region has not been as heavily degraded as other regions of Madagascar or the Western Indian Ocean. As a result, many areas exhibit remarkably high levels of biodiversity and biomass.
Blue Ventures Conservation (BV), in partnership with the local association for the protection of local marine and coastal resources – “Melaky Miaron ny Tontolo an-Driakany” (MMTD) the existing Barren Isles Turtle Conservation Project (BITCP), WWF Madagascar and the IHSM (Madagascar’s national marine research institute) propose the establishment of a LMMA around the larger Barren Islands ecosystem.

Key activities will include:

• 1. Establishment and capacity building of a community management structure constituted of local natural resource users and other key stakeholders?;
• 2. Community-based management of key traditional fisheries to promote sustainable management and improve local livelihoods;
• 3. Implementation of conservation measures to protect key habitats and species (marine turtle, cetacean and seabird populations);
• 4. Implementation of community-based fisheries, ecological and socioeconomic monitoring programmes to support these actions;
• 5. Strengthening of traditional and local governance and provision of institutional support to guarantee that the communities have the legal means to implement and enforce effective management.

Summary Job Description

The role of the Project Coordinator involves development, planning, and oversight of this important new conservation programme in Maintirano and the Barren Isles, western Madagascar. The position will be based in the coastal town of Maintirano, with frequent trips to the Barren Isles and the nearby coastal fishing villages.

Responsibilities

• • Lead project development and installation of Blue Ventures’ project site in Maintirano including local staff recruitment, local partnership presentations and development, and building of community relations.
• • Develop and manage the aims, objectives and strategic plan of Blue Ventures Conservation in Maintirano, in co-ordination with our partner organisations on the ground in Maintirano (MMTD, BITCP, and the Association Coauanne).
• • Revive community-management organisations put in place in 2010 by MMTD.
• • Work with BV Conservation Coordinator and the National and Regional Integrated Coastal Zone Management Committees to develop regional stakeholder mediation strategies to address marine resource use conflicts.
• • Work in close conjunction with all project partners (Service de Pêche, Marine Institute at the University of Toliara, Association Caouanne, University of Genève, Durrell Wildlife, World Wildlife Fund) to maximise the benefit brought to local, regional and national conservation priorities.
• • Financial budgeting and management of the project.
• • Management of project staff and community assistants.
• • Regular reporting to Research Director and Coordinator and grantees as required.
• • Identify new funding opportunities and proposals.

Requirements

• • MSc (or equivalent) in marine conservation, development or related field (or highly relavent work experience of 3+ years).
• • At least 2 years practical experience of involvement in community-centered conservation and environmental education initiatives.
• • Project management and leadership experience.
• • Experience managing a multinational team.
• • Financial and budget management experience.
• • Conversational fluency in French and English.
• • Dynamic, enthusiastic, hard-working and highly organised.
• • Willingness to live and work in remote locations with the most basic amenities.
• • Experience in scientific report writing and preparation of research papers for publication.
• • Experience of working in the Western Indian Ocean (desirable).
• • Conversational fluency in Malagasy (desirable).
• shawn@blueventures.org. Applications close 1st April 2011.