Mijasoa Andriamarovololona
I am a young Malagasy conservationist passionate about finding ways to conserve my country’s fantastic biodiversity while supporting the development of its human population. I have an extensive background in rural development and natural resource management with a first degree in Agricultural Engineering and two master’s degrees in Agronomic Sciences and in Environmental Forestry respectively from the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar and Bangor University, Wales.
Prior to starting my second masters’ degree, I spent 6 years with Vokatry ny Ala/Fruits of the Forest (VnA), a multidisciplinary and international team of researchers, first as a research intern then as a project coordinator. Experiences at VnA taught me lifetime lessons about the value of diversity. The intercultural and interdisciplinary exchanges although challenging at first were very rewarding and helped us see a clearer picture of the challenges of natural resource management that we were tackling.
Convinced that bridging the divide between different disciplines and genuinely learning from each other would greatly help advance the search for solutions to our environmental challenges, I committed myself to be one of those much needed ‘bridges’.
I have had some rich experiences including an international training by the Tropical Biology Association (TBA, UK), the opportunity to follow a leadership training supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and recently an Erasmus Mundus Masters Course followed with students from 16 different countries.
