Madagascar is home to weird and wonderful creatures that occur nowhere else on the planet. In many parts of the island, this biodiversity is under pressure due to wildlife trafficking, industrial-scale fishing and the destruction of forests. Yet it is fast becoming one of the world’s most dangerous places for those who work to protect the environment.

Environmental defenders are increasingly threatened, attacked and even killed in reaction to their efforts to protect the country’s natural resources. Recent prominent cases include Angélique Decampe Razafindrazoary, who in 2023 received death threats due to her work protecting the Vohibola forest in eastern Madagascar. And in June 2024, communities in the same region’s Moramanga district were shocked by the murder of Raymond Rakotoarisoa, the vice president of a local forest protection association.

The government frequently fails to protect activists taking a stand against illegal activities, sometimes instead subjecting them to arbitrary detention and unfair trial, according to Amnesty International’s latest country report on Madagascar. Hery Razafimamonjiraibe, Madagascar country director for U.S.-based NGO Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), is only too familiar with the security risks to the country’s environmental defenders. “[These cases] are very worrying and raise awareness of the need for specific legislation and actions to protect whistleblowers in Madagascar,” he tells Mongabay.

IMAGE 1: Razafimamonjiraibe inspects a juvenile radiated tortoise at the TSA’s Androy tortoise rescue center. Image by Carolyn Cowan/Mongabay.

Razafimamonjiraibe leads conservation teams to protect radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) in southern Madagascar’s spiny forests. The tortoises are targeted both as domestic bushmeat and to supply skyrocketing demand from the international pet trade.

When Mongabay recently visited southern Madagascar to report on efforts to protect the tortoises, Razafimamonjiraibe was following up on threats made against one of his colleagues in the antipoaching team. He was also busy coordinating with national authorities on a tense antitrafficking operation and the repatriation of animals confiscated overseas.

“Conservation in Madagascar is no 9-to-5 job,” he says with a wry smile. “You have to be passionate. I work all sorts of hours, every day of the week.”

Razafimamonjiraibe talked with Mongabay about how he manages the intensity of his day-to-day conservation activities and how the TSA manages security risks to its antipoaching staff and community volunteers. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Mongabay: Radiated tortoises are threatened by poaching for both domestic consumption and the international pet trade. What security risks does this create for staff and volunteers working to protect them?

Hery Razafimamonjiraibe: Poaching of radiated tortoises takes place mainly in the remnants of forests where tortoises still live in the wild, where they exist in high enough numbers to interest poachers. Community members living around these forests are at just as much risk as TSA staff and volunteers, because poachers operate illegally and will use force when they need to.

Community members are more vulnerable if they are alone and not in an association. This is also the case if staff and volunteers operate without community support. So we have to work together.

One way to defend against poachers is for communities to form local associations to manage local natural resources, the rights and/or use of which can then be transferred to them by government agencies on behalf of the Ministry of Environment. This is where organizations like TSA can support them in defending these resources against poaching.

TSA supports these communities by providing training (for example on protecting natural resources) in collaboration with law enforcement officials. By establishing these relationships and providing training and tools, we can empower communities (including tortoise protection volunteers) to form the first line of defense against poaching.

IMAGE 2: Left: The unique spiny forest ecosystem in southwest Madagascar; Right: a subadult radiated tortoise. Images by Carolyn Cowan and Bruno Gonzalez for Mongabay.

Mongabay: TSA’s work takes place in remote locations where there is little in the way of police presence. How do you manage security risks to staff and community volunteers working on antipoaching measures across such vast landscapes?

Hery Razafimamonjiraibe: When it comes to the antipoaching work, the main role of TSA staff and volunteers is to gather information that can then be utilized by law enforcement authorities. The aim is to let the law enforcement authorities do the work when poachers are encountered or traffickers are apprehended.

But sometimes law enforcement will ask for support. In these situations, safety instructions provided by authorities are closely followed and protective measures are both preventive and reactive. Despite the distances involved, the digital communication chain using mobile phones is effective, enabling personnel to make arrangements long before a hazardous situation occurs.

TSA emphasizes close collaboration, both with communities and law enforcement, in managing security risks for all actors involved in the fight against poaching. While community-agreed social conventions ensure the safety of humans and tortoises in some situations, a vast network of partners is involved in the antipoaching work. Our volunteer network is organized into various groups, each with designated roles and responsibilities and clear meeting times and places. This keeps communication about risks clear.

TSA has also signed various agreements with partners, including law enforcement agencies, relating to the security of its personnel and volunteers.

Mongabay: Have there been direct threats or attacks your staff or volunteers?

Hery Razafimamonjiraibe: Indeed, threats have already been made against staff or volunteers working on tortoise protection.

Staff and volunteers are sometimes called upon to be witnesses in court. However, sometimes the perpetrators reoffend and remember the witnesses and threats are made. This happened recently against one of our staff, so these calls are now being traced and investigations are taking place.

Depending on the potential for escalation of threats, further measures may have to be adopted to ensure the safety of the staff.

Mongabay: A lot of the Turtle Survival Alliance’s work in southern Madagascar is focused on areas where respect for tortoises is a central part of traditional belief systems. Do you also work in areas where these beliefs don’t exist, and how does your work differ between these two types of context?

Hery Razafimamonjiraibe: Yes, we work in other places where there are no customs or beliefs relating to respect for tortoises. Of course, there is a difference in the way we intervene, because communities don’t immediately see the point of protecting tortoises. However, we work closely with other conservation organizations that have long experience in the field and close relationships with local communities, helping us to formulate the right activities and interventions.

In the Menabe region, for instance, we protect spider tortoises [Pyxis planicauda], a species in peril due to the rapid destruction of its habitat as a result of the expansion of agriculture. We are collaborating with a government agency in charge of managing part of a protected area there to rescue tortoises in burnt forest areas and to work with communities to fight the fires. We rely on the expertise of this organization to carry out these activities.

Mongabay: What would be your advice for conservation organizations and activists working in Madagascar to minimize the security risks of their work?

Hery Razafimamonjiraibe: The risk will always exist, but contingency plans and measures related to security risks should be in place so as not to be surprised. Membership of one or more networks — such as the antipoaching consortium TSA works with, which comprises WWF, TRAFFIC, Transparency International Madagascar, Alliance Voahary Gasy — who share the same objectives is also crucial, as is real-time information exchange with key partners. In other words, activists should not act alone without support.

It is clear that the resources and capacity to enforce laws to combat poaching and secure conservationists are not sufficient. More public and private investment would therefore be needed in this direction. Compared to other development and emergency programs, these conservation investments are very low. We therefore recognize and appreciate the recent initiatives taken by some bilateral partners in terms of investment in combating wildlife poaching and trafficking.

Banner image: A lone radiated tortoise and butterfly on the main highway through the species’ native range in southern Madagascar. Image by Bruno Gonzalez / Mongabay.

Carolyn Cowan is a staff writer for Mongabay.

See related story:

Tortoise protection culture prompts efforts to curb trafficking in Madagascar

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