Madagasikara Voakajy is involved in a project funded by the Darwin Initiative to improve the conservation of threatened chameleons and the develop sustainable use of other common and abundant chameleons.
This project is led by the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, with Madagasikara Voakajy as principle partners, in addition to the Malagasy government, IUCN, Conservation International and the Department of Animal Biology at the University of Antananarivo.
Broadly, this project is developing capacity and resources for the CITES Scienitifc and Management Authorities in Madagascar to provide strong scientific justification for commercial export of chameleons. This part of the project focuses on the application of scientific information to evaluate whether individual chameleon species can be collected from the wild without harming the overall population. In support of this, we are also conducting scientifc resarch on the ecology, density and habitat use of priority chameleon species. This work has been ongoing since 2006 and we have already published a number of our results:
pdf Habitat use of chameleons in a deciduous forest in western Madagascar. (1.10 MB)
pdf Population assessments of chameleons from two montane sites in Madagascar (401 KB)
In addition to supporting the sustainable and legal trade of some chameleons, we are also working to conserve and protect the most threatened chameleon species from extinction. This involves working with local communities, government and protected area management to reduce, where it exists, destruction of key chameleon habitat and any illegal collection for the pet trade.
We also have a strong tradition in training Malagasy students in chameleon biology and conservation and we are currently supporting five students, two from the University of Toliara and three from the University of Antananarivo.
This project is currently supported by:
