Madagascar is working towards a national plan for marine turtle conservation. Sponsored by the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding (IOSEA), the Madagascar's national environmental research agency, the Centre National de Recherche sur l'Environment (CNRE) and the non-governmental organization Blue Ventures, have organised the development of a countrywide conservation plan for threatened marine turtles in the form of a national workshop taking place in Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo.

Madagascar's vast coastline and territorial waters provide habitat for five species of marine turtle, all of which are included on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Threats to these increasingly rare animals include direct targeting by fishermen, raiding of nests for eggs, and accidental capture in commercial fisheries.

They aim to bring together community leaders, fisheries managers, marine scientists, fishermen, conservationists and government representatives in a national workshop and together develop a national conservation and management plan for Madagascar's turtles. Read the full article here.