FEATURE IMAGE: Aina works with Nirina Adrianirina Rafananbinantsoa to prepare for a workshop in the remote Mangevo village in Madagascar in late 2019. (Credit: Marketta Vuola)
Madagascar is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Unfortunately, there are many endemic lemur species that are threatened in Madagascar, alongside many other fauna and flora. Education is often claimed as a long-term solution for biodiversity conservation. In fact, many NGOs are using it as a tool to gain support for conservation in Madagascar. However, based on interviews carried out from August to October 2019, there is a lack of coordination among these organisations. This represents not only an economical loss, but also a loss of skills and expertise.
A discussion between the Abuelo Kiche (Abuelo is grandfather and Kiche is the name of the indigenous ethnic group) and youth groups leads to a “a trip to the past”, during which the youth “see” and perceive what cities, forests, rivers, modes of productions, and ways of life were like before.
Through this project, Aina Brias Guinart seeks to increase the chances of success of their environmental education activities and of biodiversity conservation in general through positive collaborations by tackling the lack of collaborative action in environmental education. A two-day workshop will be held to encourage conservation NGOs to share their knowledge and expertise, and to learn from each other. In addition to this, the workshop will lay the groundwork for a future partnership amongst the conservation NGOs.
A discussion between the Abuelo Kiche (Abuelo is grandfather and Kiche is the name of the indigenous ethnic group) and youth groups leads to a “a trip to the past”, during which the youth “see” and perceive what cities, forests, rivers, modes of productions, and ways of life were like before.
Aina talks about what inspired her journey to environmental education, which stems from her childhood days growing up in the outskirts of Barcelona, and the inspiration behind her project in Madagascar.
The Building bridges for collaborative action in environmental education amongst conservation NGOs in Madagascar project is being carried out by Aina, a GESA 2018 participant from Catalunya, and is supported through GEN Project Packages.
