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Plant a tree in Madagascar and see it grow on-line! - TH!NK ABOUT IT

July 20, 2010

 

Planet Action joins forces with the NGO Vakanala in its approach of reforestation and fighting against global warming in Madagascar. How? Through an annual provision of observation imagery and geographic information. This information will enable Vakanala to visualize the progress of their reforestation projects and to monitor the donors’ development efforts in a transparent way.
Planet Action is an initiative launched by Spot Image, a leader in the market for satellite imagery. Planet Actions goal is to encourage the Earth observation industry and geographic information professionals to support local projects searching for adaptive solutions to climate change problems. The products and materials available to these professionals – satellite images, geographic information systems, image processing and display software – are indispensable for studying the impact of global warming on our planet, on local and global scales.

Vakanala project called "Biosphere Reserve of  Manambolo: Reforestation as a tools of rural development in Madagascar" is visible in the website of Planet Action . This page will be documented, illustrated and updated under the responsibility of our scientific coordinator Jérôme Lebeau, expert in conservation, monitoring, restoration of biodiversity and rural crowd sourcing. Jérôme is the man behind the http://fire.vakanala.org/ which provide a Google 3D spatial and temporal representation of fires that occurs In Madagascar and Comorros Islands. Fires are detected from two satelittes by NASA and University of Maryland, throught The Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). Data are collected for Madagascar and dispatch by Conservation International Fire Altert Project.

To be expected on the Vakanala Planet Action page: The monitoring of plants for reforestation; monitoring of biodiversity through géophotographie and GPS field survey. All carried out directly by the rural communities.


The population in the village of Manambolo, the pilot site in Madagascar, is already surprisingly sensitive to the interest of forest conservation as an essential asset to their development. Anxious to preserve their "forest capital" and aware of the massive increase in traffic of illegal wood and slash and burn activity in the country, they have appealed to the NGO Vakanala for the establishment of a sustainable management of their resources.

The project that Vakanala team has proposed to the community is in line with the program "Man and Biosphere (MAB) of the UNESCO. This form of protected area has the objective to integrate both conservation of natural resources (and hence biodiversity), and sustainable development of local populations into one single process. Launched in the early 1970s, it targets the ecological, social and economic dimensions of biodiversity loss and the reduction of this loss. It uses its World Network of Biosphere Reserves as vehicles for knowledge-sharing, research and monitoring, education and training, and participatory decision-making.


Vakanala project is funded entirely with online donations and crowd funding. Until July 30 2010 (10 days left), the project  is part of Global Giving Open Challenge to finance the reforestation of 3 fragments of forest in the south part of the Island  by the establishment of a community plant nursery. These fragments, the last remnants of natural forests which covered the Island before our era, are of paramount importance : it is first real sanctuary for the unique biodiversity of Madagascar, which it is a last refuge, but it is also a natural resource vital to the survival of rural communities to which they provide many services, natural raw materials, natural storage of rainwater, soil fertility, fight against desertification, and many others.

We hope to have a permanent place in the Global Giving green open challenge.
The principle of Global Giving competition: you make an online donation and if the total donations received by Vakanala  reached U.S. $ 4,000 from at least 50 donors, we will be able  to submit several projects permanently on  the Global Giving  web site, and we will receive additional funding of U.S.$10 000.
Some of our projects that will need their place on Global Giving to implement a Biosphere Reserve in the village of Manambolo are:

  • ecological studies (endangered species, soil erosion)
  • the socio-economic studies (development of a specific economic model)
  • the intercommunication between the communities, the region and the Ministry of Environment to obtain a classification of this area as a 'Biosphere Reserve' protected Area,  
  • the design of a plan for the sustainable management of the future protected area,
  • the establishment of long term funding mechanisms to continue the present and initiate future actions of Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Development.

Please Take part in this adventure of conservation of the unique biodiversity of Madagascar and create opportunities to increase resources revenue to the local community. A symbolic donation is within the reach of all. You can be sure that every penny that you donate is a penny that goes towards reforestation and tree planting projects. Off course for now we await the first rains (by september 2010)… If you give during the Global giving Competition, we will mark your tree on Google Earth and you will see it grow online. Donate by clicking this link http://goto.gg/5824 and pass the message to your friends.

Andriankoto Ratozamanana via development.thinkaboutit.eu

Related note on this blog:  We plant trees for you and for our world - TH!NK ABOUT IT

Filed under  //   Andriankoto   Environmental Concerns   Environmental Justice   Planet Action   TED 2009 Fellow   World Environment Action   World Environment Organization   climate Change   reforestation   vakan'ala  
Posted by Andriankoto Ratozamanana 

Comments [2]

 

We plant trees for you and for our world - TH!NK ABOUT IT

July 7, 2010

We are the first generation that has the knowledge and means to collaborate globally to solve poverty while ensuring respect for the environment and the dignity for the people. Web is the ideal tool to cooperate together and solve the crises that the world is facing today.

During eight weeks, supporters of NGO Vakanala have conffirmed the power of social networks and its effectiveness in the fight against climate change, proving the importance of individual action and how individual actions when multiplied can make a difference to the planet.

On behalf of the local community, my team (Vakanala)  would like to thank all its fans for their support during the tournament "Humanity Calls". Indeed, the local community of Manambolo through the NGO Vakanala received 1,098 votes at the friendly competition for the environment sponsored by Ebay Green Team. Thank you very much!

This result gives us the 10th place out of 145 participating non profit and has raised U.S. $ 2,351.73 equivalent to more than 5 million Malagasy Ariary.

That was possible with the great support of my fellow TED fellow, Tin Ho Chow and his team at Big New Ideas who worked on the design of Humanity Calls, a social giving platform that helps raise funds for nonprofits through an online tournament.

As we are pioneering the system of "Fundraising/voting" competition in Madagascar, we are also thankful for the advise and personal donation from my fellow TED fellows Darius Weems and Logan Smalley. Logan took time to share with me his experience and tips from DGW ( Darius Goes West). Their experience on "fundraising 2.0" helped us so much.

Photo: TED Fellow Darius Weems and Me at TED 2009

Thanks to all of you, more than 1,800 trees will be planted in the south part of Madagascar, for a total target of 10,000 trees for the year 2010. The use of these funds will be communicated transparently on Vakanala website. The first trees will be planted arround September, when the first rain drops.

Today I am thrilled to announce that Vakanala have been chosen to participate in the GlobalGiving  Green Open Challenge for July 2010.

 

Global Giving Green

Between July 5 to July 30, 2010, Vakanala will be working to raise a minimum of $4,000 from at least 50 donors to fund a plant nursery, which will guarantees the sustainability of our reforestation project in Manambolo. Check out our project design: http://goto.gg/5824

This amount will ensure a permanent spot on GlobalGiving’s website, which would allow us the opportunity to grow greatly and expand as an organization.

With all the economic sanctions that our country "Madagascar" is facing, especially from European Union, from African union and from US , plus the economic recession, we have planned to succeed our project with "crowd funding" approaches and mobilize resources outside institutions. We have also worked on the scales and will work from  small but sustainable developement project at the time.

How Can you help ?

We know that you can introduce us to a program or people that helps/ fund startup organisations or simply donate to us via our Global Giving web page.Your help is very much needed ... and will be appraeciated greatly. In addition the project that gets most support or from the most donors will win up to $ 10 000, so every donation counts! And I am counting on you all!

What is GlobalGiving?

The website Global Giving allows philanthropists to establish a direct contact with organizations in developing countries to effectively participate in their activities either through donations and / or expertise.

GlobalGiving is an organization that helps organizations like Vakanala to mobilize supports for their work in communities worldwide by offering a Web page and online tools to help them raise funds online.

About NGO VAKANALA

"Vakanala" means " Pearls of Forest" in Malagasy language.

Vakanala, is a nonprofit organization based in Antananarivo that has set a goal to preserve the many little fragments of primary forests of Madagascar with sustainable reforestation.

These fragments, the last remnants of natural forests which covered the Island before our era, are of paramount importance : it is first real sanctuary for the unique biodiversity of Madagascar, which is it last refuge, but it is also a natural resource vital to the survival of rural communities to which they provide many services, natural raw materials, natural storage of rainwater, soil fertility, fight against desertification, and many others.

Follow Vakanala on twitter @vakanala, join Vakanala Facebook Group or contact us by email. Thank you all for your continued support.

via development.thinkaboutit.eu

Filed under  //   Andriankoto   Environmental Concerns   Environmental Justice   Humanitycalls   Madagascar   TED 2009 Fellow   World Environment Action   World Environment Organization   crowdfunding   environment   think3   vakan'ala  
Posted by Andriankoto Ratozamanana 

Comments [3]

 

Glory Morning Fellow TEDsters ! Please Vote for Vakan'Ala in the eBay Tournament for the Environment today !

April 22, 2010

Humanitycall

Happy Earth day !

eBay has sponsored an amazing fundraising tournament, hosted by Humanity Calls, in honor of the environment. Please vote for our reforestation project in Madagascar.

Once you've voted we can earn more votes by simply referring your friends to vote OR DONATING TO US for the tournament!

Thanks for your support | www.vakanala.org | follow us on twitter: @vakanala | Friend us on Facebook: vakanala


Filed under  //   Earth Day   Environmental Justice   World Environment Action   reforesation  
Posted by Andriankoto Ratozamanana 

Comments [4]

 

Another TED Fellow ECOHERO by Majora Carter

June 4, 2009

Majora Carter, a well known environmental justice activist, and host of EcoHeros aired on the Sundance Channel, provides a fresh way of bringing to the forefront the work of what she calls "innovative and inspiring green pioneers". Being an EcoHero herself, she has made significant progress in raising environmental awareness within her home community of the South Bronx and provides a vivid TED talk about the experience at TED 2006. 

Dr. April Karen Baptiste, Fulbright Scholar, Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow seeks way to increase environmental responsibility in her home country of Trinidad and Tobago. Her current project involves understanding perceptions, knowledge and adaptation to climate change.

I have to commend Majora for including and highlighting the work that is being done by TED Fellows of Long Beach 2009. It has been an amazing experience to meet and share with her, my work and experiences both within the Caribbean and US context. I am very proud to be considered an EcoHero, together with one of my colleagues, Andriankoto Ratozamana - for this is truly a forum that allows us to be able to spread the word on what we are doing to shape responsibility toward environmental issues.

TED Fellows Program

TED Fellow: Dr. April Karen Baptiste

Filed under  //   Dr. April Karen Baptiste   EcoHero Sundance Channel   Environmental Concerns   Environmental Justice   TED 2009 Long Beach   TED Fellow   Trinidad and Tobago  
Posted by Karen, April Baptiste 

Comments [3]

 

TED fellow hosted by Majora Carter @ ECO HEROES - Sundance Channel - Digital short

June 3, 2009

Former blogger Andriankoto Ratozamanana decided he needed to do more than type to improve the standard of living and reforest in Madagascar. He cofounded MEGASEEDS Inc, which contributes to harnessing natural resources of the planet and ameliorating exploited habitats.

Free | www.sundancechannel.com">Sundance Channel Length : 01:33 Posted : 5/1/2009

Majora Carter is the host of Sundance Channel’s Eco-Heroes, she is  an American environmental advocate and artist. She is president of The Majora Carter Group, LLC, a green collar economic consulting firm. She is a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, one of Newsweek’s “25 To Watch,” and one of Essence Magazine’s “25 most Influential African Americans.” Majora serves on the boards of Ceres, SJF, and the Wilderness Society.

Majora Carter is also as good as Steve Jobs when she speaks. She gave this compelling talk at the TED 2006 Conference, aptly titled “Majora’s tale of urban renewal” - by greening the ghetto, one of my favorite TEDtalk. She detailed her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx - and showed how minority neighborhood suffer most from flawed urban policy.

Since 2007 Majora Carter has appeared on The Green, a television segment dedicated to the environment, shown on the Sundance Channel.The first season consisted of a series of 90 second op-eds shot in studio. The second season consisted of a series of short interview pieces with people who are taking uncommon approaches to environmental problems.

I had chance to appear on Majora's TV show as guest . She is loads of inspiration for me to reach out and teach others about the value of our unique Environment. 

I still have a long way to go before I can attain my dream but I am already thankful to  TED for enlighten me and connecting me with wonderful people.

 

 

Filed under  //   Agribusiness   Andriankoto   EcoHero Sundance Channel   Environmental Concerns   Environmental Justice   Madagascar   Majora carter   Ratozamanana   TED 2009 Long Beach   TED Fellow   Tedtalk   environment   megaseeds   ted2009  
Posted by Andriankoto Ratozamanana 

Comments [5]