Durrell has launched an emergency appeal to support remote communities in Madagascar after two cyclones struck the country 10 days apart, leaving families without food, shelter or clean water.
The communities hit hardest include those around Baly Bay and Lake Alaotra Protected Areas, home to two of Durrell’s conservation programmes which work to save species such as the ploughshare tortoise and Alaotran gentle lemur. The people affected are Durrell’s community rangers, conservation partners and their families, who help protect Madagascar’s precious wildlife and make Durrell’s vital conservation work possible.
In both areas, families have lost their homes, crops have been washed away, and widespread flooding has left thousands of people displaced. Remote fishing communities have lost their boats and fishing gear. The scale of the humanitarian crisis is overwhelming, and the national authorities are struggling to cope.
Speaking about this emergency appeal, Field Programmes Manager, Eleanor Harvie commented: “These communities are the backbone of our conservation work, we have worked alongside these families for decades and without them our efforts to protect precious wildlife and habitats would not succeed. We are urging anyone that is able to help, to please consider supporting our emergency appeal. Every gift will truly make a huge difference to families who have been left with nothing”.
With support from Jersey Overseas Aid, initial emergency assistance has been delivered, but because these areas are so remote, many families have yet to receive help. The Durrell team in Madagascar are working with village leaders and district authorities to provide urgent support, including nutritious emergency food to prevent hunger, safe drinking water and hygiene supplies, essential household items for displaced families, materials to rebuild homes, schools and health centres and equipment to rebuild facilities to care for precious baby ploughshare tortoises.
