Ankarafa Field Station
Madagascar
We are supporting a project to save Madagascar’s critically endangered Blue-eyed black lemur and their forest habitat.
Working with Bristol Zoological Society, the Richard Feilden Foundation, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Buro Happold we are helping to develop the existing field research centre and eco-tourist camp in the heart of Ankarafa Forest in Sahamalaza Peninsula, part of Radama National Park. This north western part of Madagascar is one of the most biodiverse on earth and lies within an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The team wants to help protect the forest from continuing deforestation, while helping to secure the future livelihood of local people.
Plans for the new research centre involve creating a permanent, weather-proof facility that can accommodate up to 20 scientists and students from the Malagasy and wider, international conservation research community.
The complex will offer a laboratory, office, sleeping, dining and living quarters, and a kitchen. Modern research facilities will better help scientists understand the challenges facing endangered species and how they can be helped.
Proposals for the eco-tourist camp, which is located near the research station, include expanding its present capacity to 20 guests, creating a classroom for workshops and talks, and installing raised walkways to deal with mud in the rainy season.
The hope is that the new facilities will attract a higher number of scientists, students and eco-tourists, creating local employment opportunities and building the economic value of the forest.
In addition to developing a new research centre and tourist camp, the team aims to improve road access to Ankarafa Forest and virtual access, using media such as Virtual Reality videos to link the rest of the world to this fragile forest.
Project Info
- Collaborators
- Bristol Zoological Society, AEECL, Richard Feilden Foundation, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Buro Happold