The Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group (MFG) is an international consortium of zoos and other conservation agencies which pool resources to help conserve
animal species in Madagascar, through
captive breeding programs, field research programs, training programs for rangers and wardens, and acquisition and protection of native habitat in
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. It is a
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
working in conjunction with the
Ministry of Water, Forests, and the Environment,
Government of Madagascar
Politics of Madagascar takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Madagascar is head of state and the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government, and of a pluriform mul ...
. It is the organization behind the
Save the Lemur campaign and is headquartered at the
Saint Louis Zoo
The Saint Louis Zoo, officially known as the Saint Louis Zoological Park, is a zoo in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. The zoo is accredited by the ...
.
Origins
The organization was formed in response to a plea by the Government of Madagascar to the international zoo community in 1987 to help conserve species and habitat in Madagascar and provide training and knowhow for such activities. The plea was made at a meeting held at
St. Catherines Island,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, United States. Convened by the
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...
and the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
, it was attended by the
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organization with a mission to save species from extinction. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the dodo as its symbol. T ...
(then Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust) headed by
Gerald Durrell
Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...
,
Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse
The Mulhouse Zoological and Botanical Park is a French zoological park located in the Grand Est region in the departement of Haut-Rhin, in the southeast of the city of Mulhouse, district of Rebberg. Created in 1868 by philanthropists industrialis ...
, the Strasborg consortium, the
Duke Lemur Center
The Duke Lemur Center is an sanctuary for rare and endangered strepsirrhine primates, located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is the largest sanctuary for strepsirrhine primates in the world.
The center is open to the public ...
, and several US zoos. These institutions became the founding members of the group when it was formalized in 1988. As of August 2021, the organization has 30 member institutions.
The two logos of the organization sport two of Madagascar's oft championed species for conservation – the
ruffed lemur
The ruffed lemurs of the genus ''Varecia'' are strepsirrhine primates and the largest extant lemurs within the family Lemuridae. Like all living lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus, ...
and the
aye-aye
The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger.
It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...
.
Goals
The six major goals of the MFG, as outlined in their mission statement, are:
*Providing training and support at
Parc Ivoloina, Madagascar's premier zoological park and resort. Support includes outreach and educational programs, and veterinary support.
*Protection of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves, notably the
Betampona Reserve
Betampona Reserve is a nature reserve in Toamasina Province of Madagascar. It is located 40 km northwest of Toamasina
Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region ...
, where the MFG have started the re-introduction of captive-bred
ruffed lemur
The ruffed lemurs of the genus ''Varecia'' are strepsirrhine primates and the largest extant lemurs within the family Lemuridae. Like all living lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus, ...
s into the wild.
*Promoting and funding field work pertaining to Madagascar fauna, flora and habitat. Cases in point are the
side-necked turtle, the
Malagasy pond heron
The Malagasy pond heron (''Ardeola idae''), also known as the Madagascar pond heron or Madagascar squacco heron, is a species of heron of the family Ardeidae. They breed in Madagascar, Réunion and the Seychells, and spend the non-breeding se ...
and a range of lemur species.
*Managing captive breeding programs for Madagascar species in and outside Madagascar, co-ordinating amongst the various member organizations.
*Planning conservation goals in conjunction with the
Madagascar National Parks Association
Madagascar National Parks, formerly known as ''l'Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées'' (ANGAP), was founded in 1991 and is charged with managing a network of 46 National Parks, Special Reserves and Integral Nature Reserve ...
*Educating zoo visitors worldwide about Madagascar's biological heritage
Among their campaigns is Save the Lemur, a drive to raise funds and generate awareness about the plight of lemur species in Madagascar.
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.madagascarfaunaflora.org/
Environmental organizations based in the United States
Nature conservation in Madagascar
Saint Louis Zoo
Foreign charities operating in Madagascar