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| Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group | |
|---|---|
| Name | Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group |
| Formation | 1986 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | Antananarivo, Madagascar |
| Region served | Madagascar |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group is an international consortium focused on conservation of Malagasy biodiversity through captive breeding, habitat restoration, and community engagement. Founded by a coalition of zoological institutions, conservation NGOs, and research centers, the organization collaborates with national ministries and international donors to implement species recovery and protected area management. Its activities intersect with institutional partners, field projects, and science networks to address threats to endemic flora and fauna across Madagascar.
The initiative emerged in the 1980s when representatives from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Zoo Atlanta, San Diego Zoo Global, Frankfurt Zoological Society, and the Wildlife Conservation Society convened with officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (Madagascar) and the IUCN to respond to accelerating habitat loss and extinction risk for lemurs, reptiles, and plants. Early convenings involved conservationists from the World Wide Fund for Nature, curators from the London Zoo, and academics affiliated with the University of Antananarivo, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Institution. Donors such as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development provided seed funding, while partnerships with the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew shaped ex situ and in situ strategies.
The group’s mission aligns with international frameworks like the Convention on Biological Diversity, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Program areas include captive breeding tied to reintroduction under protocols influenced by the Species Survival Commission and habitat restoration guided by the Global Environment Facility and Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar). Institutional programming involves collaboration with the Antananarivo Botanical Garden, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the National Parks of Madagascar (PNM), and conservation science units at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Cambridge.
Projects have targeted flagship taxa including ring-tailed lemur, aye-aye, indri, sifaka, black-and-white ruffed lemur, Malagasy radiated tortoise, ploughshare tortoise, and endemic orchids managed with partners like the Madagascar National Parks and the Durrell Wildlife Camp. Recovery actions draw on methodologies from the Reintroduction Specialist Group and captive husbandry protocols developed with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Landscape-scale initiatives integrate work in ecoregions listed by WWF South Madagascar and protected area design influenced by the Man and the Biosphere Programme.
Research collaborations include projects with the Centre ValBio, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology on lemur behavior, genetics, and disease ecology. Education and outreach programming partners with the Peace Corps, local municipal councils in Antananarivo, community associations in Alaotra-Mangoro Region, and regional schools tied to curricula developed with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Citizen science, capacity building, and vocational training have been conducted in coordination with the Malagasy Red Cross and local NGOs such as Fanamby.
Funding streams have included grants from the World Bank, the European Union, and private philanthropies like the Jane Goodall Institute donors and the Oak Foundation. Strategic partnerships encompass academic institutions including Cornell University, University of Michigan, and McGill University, as well as zoological gardens such as the San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian National Zoo. Collaborative memoranda of understanding have been established with the Madagascar Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and multilateral agencies including the United Nations Development Programme.
The consortium operates through a governing board composed of representatives from partner institutions such as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Zoological Society of London, and major university partners. Operational units include field program directors, veterinary teams linked to the Royal Veterinary College, and scientific advisory committees drawing experts from institutions like the Museum of Natural History, Paris and the American Museum of Natural History. Administrative oversight conforms to nonprofit governance practices common to charitable trusts registered in jurisdictions including Madagascar and partner countries.
Impact assessments cite successes in captive breeding, short-term population increases for select species, and establishment of community-managed forest blocks; outcomes documented in reports circulated among partners including the IUCN SSC and the Global Wildlife Conservation. Criticisms from scholars affiliated with the University of Oxford and activists associated with grassroots Malagasy movements have focused on tensions regarding prioritization of charismatic species over agroforestry livelihoods, the balance between ex situ and in situ approaches, and questions raised in forums like the World Conservation Congress about equity, benefit-sharing under the Nagoya Protocol, and long-term sustainability. Continuous adaptive management has been proposed in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Madagascar National Commission for UNESCO and regional development agencies.
Category:Conservation organizations Category:Environment of Madagascar Category:Non-profit organizations