Les écosystèmes marins et côtiers de Madagascar abritent une biodiversité marine et côtière exceptionnelle. Pourtant, face aux différentes menaces actuelles, il est nécessaire d’étendre les actions de la conservation marine et côtière, y compris la protection du littoral et de la pêche qui jouent un rôle dans le développement économique national en contribuant de manière significative aux moyens de subsistance locaux. En novembre 2014, lors du Congrès mondial des parcs à Sydney, Australie, Son Excellence Monsieur le Président de la république a annoncé que Madagascar triplera les aires marines protégées existantes dans les dix prochaines années. Avec cette déclaration présidentielle, connu sous l’appellation de « Promesse de Sydney », la communauté de la conservation marine et côtière à Madagascar engagera un processus, en collaboration avec le gouvernement sur les modalités pratiques de sa mise en œuvre.
Des ateliers et réunions techniques ont été organisés pour faire participer les institutions étatiques (Ministère chargé de la Pêche, Environnement, mines, hydrocarbures, ...), ONGs, associations et les opérateurs économiques dans la définition de la vision et les objectifs pour la conservation marine à Madagascar. Et des demandes de collaborations ont été effectuées en vu de mettre en place des échanges de données et d’expériences.
Le résultat ainsi obtenu nous montre les zones potentielles pour la création des nouvelles Aires Marines Protégées à Madagascar, qui tient compte de la connectivité et la représentativité des espèces et leurs habitats.
We're happy to share this compilation of news from the JRS Biodiversity Foundation and our grantees that we've posted this year.
JRS has a commitment to share what we're learning from our grantees. In that spirit, we publish the report highlighted below titled "Show me the Data." We hope that this is the first of many such publications from JRS and we welcome your comments and ideas.
JRS REPORT RELEASE
Show Me the Data!
We are pleased to announce the release of a study we commissioned on the accessibility of JRS grantee data. In 2014, JRS contracted Jante LLC to conduct an independent review of expected data products from 49 JRS-funded projects. The results suggested that biodiversity information was less discoverable and accessible than hoped. However, interviews with grantees provided the framework for a set of recommendations to projects with data-sharing goals, and formed the basis for a new JRS Data Sharing Policy. Read more here.
JRS News
JRS Seeks New Trustees for 2016
JRS invites you to suggest candidates for our international Board of Trustees for consideration to serve in 2016-2019. We seek talented leaders with a proven passion for JRS’ mission and expertise that combines at least two of: conservation, policy, organizational development or biodiversity informatics. Suggestions for candidates or inquires will be held in confidence and may be sent to nominations@jrsbiodiversity.org.
NEW GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to the newest JRS Grantees
JRS announced nine grant awards during the second funding cycle of 2014, totaling more than $925,000 in project support and are pleased to announce our first 2015 grant to NatureServe for policy studies in South America:
Improving access to biodiversity information in Africa:
In January, JRS welcomed the newest board member, Souleymane Konaté, Professor in ecology at the University Nangui Abrogoua (Côte d'Ivoire). Read more about Dr. Konaté here.
Glass Pockets, the Foundation Center's initiative to promote transparency in philanthropy, featured a post by Don on their Transparency Talk blog. Read the post here.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Grantees in the News
Read some of the press coverage highlights of JRS Grantee activities:
Louis Liebenberg advocates for the use of citizen science technologies like CyberTracker in democratizing biodiversity data collection (JRS News Item)
Premier of "The Bat Man of Mexico" BBC documentary featuring Rodrigo Medellín covered by Tim Sohn in the New Yorker. (JRS News Item). You can also read about how Medellín's work informed a tri-national agreement to protect bats here.
Voice America features an interview with Joyce Poole from ElephantVoices. (JRS News Item)
The American Scientist blog featured a post by David C. Blackburn from the California Academy of Sciences on the need for biology education in Africa. (JRS News Item)
DATA PRODUCTS AND RELEASES
Making Biodiversity Data Available
JRS grantees have released a number of new data products this year, documenting both historic biodiversity, and ongoing global changes. Read about each of the projects below on the JRS news site:
Conferences and workshops advance the JRS mission by facilitating collaboration and networking of biodiversity information professionals. In May, Africa Rising: Mobilizing biodiversity data for sustainable development, funded in part by JRS, convened in Cape Town, South Africa with 100 delegates representing 21 African countries. The conference launched GBIF-led Biodiversity Information for Development, aimed at exploring ways to connect data generators to data users in the biodiversity data lifecycle (News Item).
Still upcoming is the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) conference in Nairobi, Kenya (Sep 28-Oct 1). This os the first time the meeting will be held in Africa (read here), an effort supported by JRS with the goal of increasing the African voice in discussions about using biodiversity data in conservation.
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