A multi-stakeholder platform underpinned by traditional governance principles based on mutual obligations and trust, is working to reduce pressures on coastal ecosystems through marine conservation, forest management, and sustainable agriculture.

Nature-based Intervention:

The multi-stakeholder Plateforme de Concertation pour le Développement Durable de la Baie d’Antongil (PCDDBA, Collaborative Platform for Sustainable Development of the Antongil Bay) was created to provide a space for communication and collaboration about resource management between the various groups that depend on the Antongil bay for different reasons. The PCDDBA has created 20 locally managed marine areas along the bay’s coastline which are continuously monitored for illegal fishing activities. Additionally, they also work on sustainable agriculture supporting various climate resilient and sustainable agricultural practices including the planting of mucuna, a nitrogen-fixing plant that can enrich local soil during fallow periods. Furthermore, promotion of forest management practices that focus on the production of non-timber forest products helps to stave off excessive timber extraction in the area.

Overview of context and outcomes:

The Antongil Bay in Madagascar is the largest bay in the country and one of the most productive in the Indian Ocean. However, it suffers pressures from industrial fishing interests that come into conflict with traditional and artisanal fishing, land conversion from mangroves to rice fields, and climate change and has, as a result, seen declining fish populations and significant damage to marine ecosystems.