Community Centred Conservation - C3 Madagscar and Indian Ocean Islands Programme Dugongs without borders

DUGONGS WITHOUT BORDERS -Building capacity for Indian Ocean Sirenian Conservation

Timeframe: 2006-2012

Location: Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

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The islands of the Comoros and Madagascar harbour the last dugong populations in the South West Indian Ocean Islands. However, these populations are currently unstudied. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) has recently established a MoU for the international protection of the species, to which both Comoros and Madagascar are among the first signatories. This work aims to capitalize on this strong political commitment to dugong conservation in both countries to train a network of dugong experts, raise local awareness and gather preliminary information on dugongs and their habitat in north west Madagascar (probably the largest but least studied population in the region) using low-cost, sustainable research techniques to compile National Dugong Conservation Action Plans.

Dugong

Regional Technical Meeting

The First Technical Meeting for the Conservation of the Dugong and its Habitat in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) was heldbetween 4th and 6th August 2010 at the Colbert Hotel, Antananarivo, Madagascar. It was supported financially by the CMS Abu Dhabi office as part of its function as the Secretariat to the UNEP/CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range (Dugong MoU). The meeting was organized and facilitated by the non-governmental organization, Community Centred Conservation (C3) which has been actively involved in dugong research and conservation activities within the SWIO since 2006.

The Dugong MoU seeks to conserve and protect dugong throughout its global range across over 40 range states. In the lead-up to the First Official Signatory State Meeting of the Dugong MoU (held in Abu Dhabi 4-6 October 2010), the UNEP/CMS Office funded a number of sub-regional projects which included technical meetings/workshops to support dugong conservation efforts in range states and the implementation of the Dugong MoU. This meeting was the first of its kind in the SWIO convening relevant governmental and non-governmental actors from eight out of the nine range states in this sub-region.

Meeting Objectives

The main barrier to dugong conservation in East Africa and the western Indian Ocean islands continues to be the lack of technical and financial capacity to implement suitable actions. The Dugong MoU’s Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) for dugongs in the western Indian Ocean provides the framework to progress conservation and management actions in this region and this meeting was a first step towards implementing the objectives of the CMP in the SWIO region under the auspices of the UNEP/CMS Secretariat for the Dugong MoU, and to also encourage non-signatory dugong range states to sign the Dugong MoU.

The specific objectives were to:

Provide a vital opportunity for the countries to present updates on the status of their dugong populations and associated habitat
Brief relevant actors in the standardized research protocol developed by UNEP/CMS for gathering data on dugongs
Seek grounds for future collaboration in the fields of both research and management.

Dugong meeting

Meeting Outcomes

The meeting revealed much new information about the status, distribution and threats to dugongs and their habitats, providing an update to the most recent regional review published by WWF and containing data available as of 2002 (WWF EAME, 2004).

This was the first time representatives from Somalia had attended a dugong technical meeting and the first time the Mozambican government was present at a UNEP/CMS Dugong meeting, the latter indicating their interest in signing the MoU at the upcoming First Signatory State Meeting in Abu Dhabi.

A summary of priority areas for research was produced and possibilities for trans-boundary collaboration identified by participants. The UNEP/CMS standardized questionnaire was distributed and explained to participants and the UNEP/CMS Project Manual was introduced as a useful reference when implementing surveys. Further discussions were held regarding the mapping of dugong habitat and means to economize funds when implementing low-cost rapid assessments. Means of processing and applying project results to management decision-making were also discussed.

National reporting forms were filled out by participants and identification of national and regional priorities were summarized following group break-out sessions. Participants were informed of funding available for piloting the questionnaires in priority areas and requested to draft proposals for consideration by the UNEP/CMS and C3 at the First Official Signatory State meeting to the Dugong MoU. It was anticipated that funds would be released and projects initiated after the next wet season, from April 2011 onwards. In January 2011 C3 is reviewing all proposals with UNEP/CMS and deciding on the allocation of small funds to each proponent state.

Madagascar

C3 has been conducting dugong research in northern Madagascar since June 2009 in partnership with the University of Antsiranana, Madagascar National Parks and the Centre National de Recherches Océanographique (CNRO). So far over 600 interviews have been conducted in fishing communities to gather data on the status, distribution, threats and socio-economic and cultural values of dugongs. Both broad and fine-scale seagrass mapping has been conducted at 20 sites to create a map of dugong hotspots which are of high priority for conservation and management.

Concern exists especially amongst elders in the communities about the serious decline in the species in this region and C3 will be working together with community leaders in 2011 to trial incentivised bycatch reduction initiatives, given that accidental capture in gill nets is the most significant contemporary threat to this species’ survival. The continued support of the CLP programme and UNEP-CMS has enabled us to work long-term with these communities in not only collecting baseline data on this rare species but also in designing and implementing tangible solutions to counter the decline and potential extinction of dugongs from these waters.

We will be working with other NGOs and government institutions to capacity build other field scientists in dugong research and management throughout Madagascar in 2011 and beyond, ensuring they benefit from the lessons learnt and experience gained by our team of Malagasy field scientists.

Dugong costume

Mauritius

The dugong has long been suspected extinct from the Mascarene Islands, with the last written record in the late 18th century. However, given the illusive nature of the animal, its ability to travel hundreds of kilometres and its reappearance at Aldabra Atoll (Seychelles), this suspected extinction required a more thorough investigation. C3, in collaboration with Shoals Rodrigues, interviewed fishers and carried out research into literature including accounts from early European mariners to build a picture of the disappearance of this mammal which was once observed in herds of hundreds of individuals along the Mauritian coastline.

Union of the Comoros

In the Comoros, Conservation Action Plans have already been devised for the green turtle, the coelacanth and Livingstone’s fruit bat; however, no plans have been created for conservation of the dugong despite the fact that this species is globally threatened with extinction. Several researchers have identified an urgent need for conservation plans for the dugong, although this has been hampered to date by a lack of scientific information. Our work constituted the first comprehensive survey of the dugong in the Comoros and will result in the creation of an action plan and community-based monitoring programme for the conservation of this species. The project will have far reaching, sustainable consequences, since protection of the dugong will also involve protection of marine habitats which are vital to local communities livelihoods, through fishing, eco-tourism and other natural resource use.

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