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All the latest news from Madagasikara Voakajy, the Malagasy biodiversity organisation dedicated to the conservation of endemic vertebrates and their habitats in Madagascar.

The 2013 Mangabe festival was held on 25th May 2013 in Ampahitra, a small village 13km south of Moramanga, on the way to Anosibe An'Ala, and at the edge of Mangabe-Ranomena-Sahasarotra, a new protected area. Annually, since 2011, this festival is organized by Madagasikara Voakajy and the community-based organizations involved in the management of this new protected area. The festival aims to raise the profile of the golden mantella frog amongst the stakeholders in Mangabe and encourage the communities living within and around this new protected area to engage in the conservation of this emblematic species and its habitat.

Six of the nine species of baobabs in the world are endemic to Madagascar. Three of them are Endangered according to the IUCN Red List: Grandidier's baobab (Adansonia grandidieri), Perrier's baobab (A. perrieri) and the Diego baobab (A. suarezensis). The first is only found in the western part of Madagascar while the latter two are endemic to the northern tip of the country. Together, they are threatened by low recruitment in the wild. To mitigate this threat, we initiated a program to restore the baobab population in western and northern Madagascar.

The Antanosy gecko, Phelsuma antanosy, is Critically Endangered species in the IUCN Red List. It is only found in the Anosy Region, in southeastern Madagascar, particularly around the QMM mining area. A workshop aiming to develop a Conservation Strategy for this species was organized on 13-15th June 2012 at the Hotel Marina, Fort-Dauphin.

The Diego Baobab, Adansonia suarezensis, is Critically Endangered on the IUCN RedList. The population in Diego do not think conservation efforts are required for this species. What should be done?

Madagascar has a comprehensive set of wildlife laws that gives protection to many species, including all lemurs, and permits the managed hunting of other species. We have studied peoples' use of wild animals in Madagascar for food since 2007 and conclude that illegal hunting of protected species is rife and lemurs are often targeted.

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