Rural development.
Rooted in the landscape.

As Chief Technical Advisor for the European Commission, EuropeAid and the EU Delegation to Madagascar, I supported the €5 million EDF-funded Integrated Rural Development Programme of the Bemaraha Region, based in Antsalova.

I provided technical assistance to the National Association of Protected Areas (ANGAP) to plan, organise and implement the programme, linking biodiversity conservation with village development and rural infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Programme administration. Assisted project administration, the preparation of Operational Programme Estimates and technical and financial reporting to the Steering Committee. Supervised EDF procurement procedures for supplies and works, including 100 kilometres of rural roads and the construction of a small airport.
• Tsingy Bemaraha National Park. Provided expertise in ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation, ecotourism and the development of villages in the park’s buffer zone.
• Skills and local institutions. Strengthened the capacities of local staff and stakeholders in coastal and terrestrial protected-area management, park management planning, participatory biodiversity use, rural organisations and micro-project development.
• Village initiatives. Promoted village committees to implement micro-projects offering viable economic alternatives, including irrigation schemes, orchards, improved livestock and small commerce.
• Decentralisation. Advised and trained six municipalities in preparing local development plans that included biodiversity conservation and natural-resource management by local residents.
• Monitoring and evaluation. Designed and implemented the programme’s monitoring and evaluation system to assess park management quality and impacts on biodiversity conservation and livelihoods.
• Infrastructure supervision. Supervised and controlled the construction of rural roads, a tourism airport, village projects, park offices and ecotourism infrastructure.
• Biodiversity hotspots and local rights. Supported management plans for coastal and terrestrial biodiversity hotspots through forest and fauna inventories and participatory ecosystem management. Supported their classification as protected areas under national legislation and mentored policymaking on GELOSE (Gestion Locale Sécurisée) to transfer management and sustainable-use rights to communities within their traditional territories.