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VERSION:2.0
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BEGIN:VEVENT
LAST-MODIFIED:20070321T162152
SEQUENCE:0
CONTACT:events@earthwatch.org.uk
ORGANIZER:Earthwatch
DTEND:20070329T203000
UID:2008-09-06T12:13:55-0400_636708402@socialweb1
DESCRIPTION:Leading Earthwatch-supported scientists will share their fascin
 ating findings at a special lecture hosted by the environmental charity. Dr
  Jonah Ratsimbazafy of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Dr Luke 
 Dollar both work with Earthwatch volunteers to protect lemurs and their pre
 dators in the wildlife hotspot of Madagascar. Home to rainforest animals an
 d plants found nowhere else in the world\, Madagascar is threatened with la
 rge-scale destruction by unsustainable human activities\, such as poaching 
 and logging. It is home to eight species of lemurs\, including the critical
 ly endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur - under threat from cyclones and
  human disturbance. Inspired from a young age to protect lemurs\, Dr Ratsim
 bazafy is working to ensure not only the conservation of these endearing cr
 eatures\, but also the recovery of the magnificent rainforest they rely on.
  Sharing his results with the local community\, and encouraging them to pro
 tect their environment with local government\, Dr Ratsimbazafy is a valuabl
 e source of information about Madagascar’s wildlife and people. \n\nAltho
 ugh Madagascar’s famous lemurs have been the subject of extensive researc
 h\, very little is known about their much rarer predator\, the cat-like fos
 sa\, found nowhere else in the world. Their habits are virtually unknown\, 
 their population status a mystery. Dr Luke Dollar is the only scientist stu
 dying this enigmatic species\, and is working in the remote forests of Kiri
 ndy Mitea where no scientist has gone before. Earthwatch volunteers come at
  a crucial time\, as deforestation and hunting for bush meat threatens many
  of these unique mammals and their habitats. \nDr Dollar’s team has succe
 ssfully formed a collective of local managers\, villagers\, students\, educ
 ators\, researchers\, and politicians\, all working together to safeguard M
 adagascar’s unparalleled and irreplaceable natural treasures – its wild
 life and its people. \n\n“As large carnivores of the forests\, fossas are
  important flagships for the island\,” says Dr James Burton\, Earthwatch 
 Senior Research and Education Officer. “They are also one of the first gr
 oup of species that will be most affected by the negative factors impacting
  on the forests\, and therefore the most threatened. This means our researc
 h is all the more vital.”  He adds: “At Manombo in south-east Madagasca
 r\, Dr Ratsimbazafy’s field research and high level of community engageme
 nt is helping to conserve a lemur species that is among the world’s 25 mo
 st endangered primates\, and on the brink of extinction.”  \n\nDr Jonah R
 atsimbazafy\, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust\, Madagascar Programme. J
 onah Ratsimbazafy\, a native of Madagascar\, grew up on the island and rece
 ived his primary education in a public school and his college degree from t
 he University of Antananarivo\, in the capital of Madagascar. He started st
 udying lemurs in the field in 1994\, visiting Manombo to do a lemur survey 
 and has been leading Earthwatch teams since 2004. In June 1996 Jonah decide
 d to study Varecia at Manombo as his species of interest for his Ph.D. proj
 ect. Jonah teaches at the Department of Water and Forests at Agronomy schoo
 l and the Department of Paleontology and Anthropology at the University of 
 Antananarivo. \n\nLuke Dollar is a graduate student completing his Ph.D. (2
 006) at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment Program in E
 cology. He is also a Research Associate with the Duke University Primate Ce
 nter and Founder of the Carnivore Conservation and Research Trust. His rese
 arch specialties include carnivore ecology\, specifically the Fossa (Crypto
 procta ferox) in Malagasy rainforests. Luke has been working on the fossa a
 nd its conservation for more than a decade. As director of this Earthwatch 
 project\, he has managed teams from five continents in more than a dozen fi
 eld sites. In addition to being an avid outdoorsman\, he is a compassionate
  conservationist\, focusing equally on the human and biodiversity component
 s of environmental management.
SUMMARY:Madagascar – Conservation and Communities
DTSTART:20070329T190000
CREATED:20070321T162151
DTSTAMP:20080906T121355
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