By Simon Bradley | SOS Communications and Marketing Officer
SOS has been supporting lemur conservation projects in Madagascar since late 2015 with the launch of this special initiative. As you know SOS works to protect threatened species, their habitats and support the people who depend on them. This is our mission worldwide. SOS Lemurs is a special initiative focusing the effort on Madagascar.
The amazing benefit of a wildlife approach to protecting nature and to encouraging sustainable development is that by focusing on species- the building block of nature - the project builds sustainability and resilience from the ground up - to protect threatened species of plants and animals, conservationists must work with local people and engage communities and land owners and judiciary and officials and children too of course! To protect a species one must also consider the habitat in which it lives and of which it is an intrinsic part - very often a healthy species population is a good indicator of a healthy ecosystem!
And to ensure the benefits are long-lasting and equitably shared, the projects must consider the needs of the local communities.
This is never more so pertinent than in Madagascar where material poverty is pervasive - but it is also a country with incredible wealth- lemurs are only found there and many people visit Madagascar just to see these amazing primates in their natural forest homes. So protecting lemurs means protecting their forests (by reforestation for example) and by extension providing solutions for local communities to benefit from healthier lemur populations (employment in managing ecotourism opportunities or as wildlife rangers in national parks for example).
This video above explains it all much better - watch and enjoy and learn a little more about lemurs and Madagascar and how your donations help support that sustainable model of grassroots resilience with benefits for wildlife, habitats and people alike.
Thank you for your support.
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