We’re pleased to share the August 2026 issue of the Duke Lemur Center’s Madagascar Programs Update.
DLC Conservation Update, August 2026
|
|
|
|
Dear valued friend and supporter,
|
The last few months have been incredibly productive, and synthesizing all our activities for this update has been especially meaningful to me because the outcomes are becoming increasingly tangible. Over 100 students experienced Madagascar’s national parks for the first time, farmers doubled yields, hundreds of women actively sought and received reproductive health services, and community-led restoration efforts have resulted in over 100,000 trees planted this year. Our recent SAVA Newsletter details the scope of our projects, but we want to draw your attention to a few items below.
Significantly, we celebrated one of our greatest achievements in recent years: the successful inauguration of a new protected area governed by a grassroots civil society organization, culminating four years of dedication.
Thank you for making this work possible. As we continue to expand community-led conservation initiatives, we hope you’ll keep these communities, forests, and lemurs in mind during the months ahead.
|
|
|
|
James Herrera
Director of Conservation
Duke Lemur Center
|
|
|
|
|
Community Conservation & Forest Restoration
|
|
|
|
On July 9, we officially inaugurated the Ambanitaza Biocultural Landscape, a new community-led protected area.
More than 800 people attended, marking the culmination of four years of community engagement, restoration, and conservation. Throughout the year, community members held workshops and meetings to establish local governance systems, legally recognize forest management rules and resource protection, and demarcate restoration and sustainable-use zones.
A video documenting our landscape restoration project was featured on the Sunday news in Madagascar.
|
The regional director of Madagascar’s Ministry of Environment presents the signed treaty establishing the Ambanitaza Biocultural Landscape to the president of the community forest stewardship organization, a milestone years in the making.
|
|
|
|
Communities planted over 3,000 native trees during May and June at the Ambanitaza protected area, bringing our total to over 100,000 trees planted this year!
15,000 trees were planted by more than 600 community members to forge a new partnership, demonstrating extraordinary local commitment. This community has been planting trees here every year since the 1970s, and it now proudly cultivates a thriving forest.
|
|
|
|
Environmental education activities reached more than 300 students across six schools, bringing us to over 2,000 students impacted this year!
Students from a remote village, where there is no remaining forest, visited Loky Manambato Protected Area. It was their first time seeing forests, lemurs, the ocean, and the city. They were rewarded with sightings of golden crowned sifaka, crowned lemurs, and chameleons!
|
Upon returning, students presented what they learned to parents and community members, inspiring interest in conservation and education.
|
School-based environmental projects expanded, including school gardens, tree nurseries, and schoolyard clean-up campaigns.
|
Students celebrating the harvest from their school garden.
|
One tangible outcome of this program is that a student who was keeping a bamboo lemur as a pet voluntarily decided to release his pet after learning about lemur conservation.
We support after school classes for students in their last year of primary school to prepare them for their final exam. Educational performance was remarkable in the schools we supported, including a 100% graduation rate (27/27 students) in one school, and 90+% (73/79 & 13/19) in two other schools.
|
Students in Maromokotra exhibited their talents by developing their own conservation performances, including dances, songs, poems, and a skit. They attracted the attention of regional forestry officials who hope to involve them in future conservation celebrations, such as World Lemur Day festivities.
|
|
|
|
Research & Lemur Conservation
|
Preparations were completed for a major 6-week lemur monitoring expedition in one of Madagascar’s most important remaining rainforests. Twelve team members will monitor lemurs in remote forests while conducting conservation outreach in isolated communities. We focus on the critically endangered Silky Sifaka, one of the world’s rarest primates. This work is supported by a new five-year partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to monitor endangered lemurs.
|
Duke PhD student Emily Decker in the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Sanford School of Public Policy has been researching charcoal value chains and impacts on livelihoods, forest conservation, and household health. Her dissertation is linked to our bamboo charcoal innovation, which has expanded production and sales of sustainable charcoal and fuel-efficient cookstoves, helping reduce pressure on natural forests.
|
Emily and research partner Judex drying bamboo in preparation to make clean charcoal.
|
|
|
|
For 10 days, seven passionate visitors experienced the magic of this special island through a trip organized by the Duke Lemur Center and Duke Travels. Led by Conservation Director, James Herrera, and accompanied by DLC Executive Director, Greg Dye, the group saw the famous indri, three different species of sifakas, the iconic ring-tailed lemurs, lemurs as small as mice, and more chameleons than anyone can count! We will keep you posted on future trips!
|
Diademed sifaka observed near Andasibe.
|
|
|
|
News and Videos from DLC-SAVA Conservation
|
|
|
|
Thank You to Our Supporters
|
None of these achievements would be possible without the generosity of our donors, grant-makers, institutional partners, and individual supporters.
Every tree planted, student inspired, family served, farmer trained, and lemur protected is made possible through the financial support and trust of people who believe in a future where both communities and biodiversity can thrive together.
Whether you have supported these efforts through a donation, partnership, advocacy, or simply sharing our story, you are helping create lasting change in Madagascar.
On behalf of the people and lemurs of Madagascar, thank you for making this work possible.
|
|
|
|
Duke Lemur Center · 3705 Erwin Rd. · Durham, NC 27705 · USA
Copyright © Duke Lemur Center. All rights reserved.
lemur.duke.edu | Visit | Support Us
|
|
|
|
