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New School and Footbridge Almost Completed!
By Dr. Erik Patel
P A G E 3
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1
DLC-SC is facilitating the
construction of a new three-
classroom primary school and
40-meter footbridge in the
r e m o t e
v i l l a g e
o f
Antsahaberaoka, which is near
the western boundary of
Marojejy National Park (see
n Vol. 1, Issue 1 of the
SAVA Conservation newsletter).
The project was funded and
initiated by Seacology, an
environmental
organization
based in Berkeley, California. As
in other Seacology projects, the
goal was to engage this island
community living adjacent to a
threatened high biodiversity
habitat
in
a
win-win
conservation exchange. In this
case, the village signed a locally enforced contract (“dina”) agreeing to 30 years of renewed protection for a region of
Marojejy National Park which contains an unusually high density of silky sifakas, and where lemur hunting and other
forms of habitat disturbance had previously been a problem. It is indeed gratifying to see that the community has
made substantial progress towards the completion of the school and footbridge. Due to the remote location of
Antsahaberaoka, this has been no small undertaking as all construction materials must be carried manually for nearly
two days to reach the village. Fortunately, park rangers concur with our team that habitat disturbance of all kinds
has considerably diminished in the Marojejy forests adjacent to this village since the project began.
S A V A C O N S E R V A T I O N
Primary school being built in Antsahaberaoka
Photo by Tonkasina Jacques Harson "Jackson"
Foot-bridge being assembled
Photo by Tonkasina Jacques Harson "Jackson"
Foot-bridge foundation in Antsahaberaoka
Photo by Tonkasina Jacques Harson "Jackson"