ANTANANARIVO - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is pleased to announce that the recently sworn-in Director of USAID in Madagascar, John L. Dunlop, inaugurated the new offices of the USAID Hay Tao and USAID Mikajy projects in Ankadivato and Tsiadana on the morning of Wednesday, September 26, 2018. These projects form the two major components of USAID’s Conservation and Communities Program (CCP) and will operate for five years.

This inauguration is an important milestone in the progress made since the official launch of USAID Hay Tao and USAID Mikajy on September 14, 2018.  That launch marked USAID’s return to the biodiversity conservation and natural resources management sectors in Madagascar after nearly a decade.

USAID Hay Tao's main goal is to create a supportive and enabling environment to promote resilient livelihoods for communities and biodiversity conservation. This project will intervene at the national level to strengthen public policies, the capacities of civil society organizations, and the use of information technologies for the provision and use of data and information on biodiversity and related areas. It will also ensure the development and dissemination of good practices, training tools, and innovative financing options for conservation for communities and their stakeholders.

The USAID Mikajy project, the 'sister project' to USAID Hay Tao, aims to advance the objectives of the CCP on the ground. It will work in two regions of Madagascar: Menabe in the west of the country; and the 'MaMaBaie' ecoregion in the north-east of the country, anchored by the national parks of Makira and Masoala and the Bay of Antongil. USAID Mikajy will demonstrate the extraordinary value of letting local communities lead the way. Through an integrated approach focused on resilience, it will improve conservation of unique biodiversity, promote sustainable livelihoods, and secure effective local governance and ownership of natural resources. Working directly with local communities who rely on land and sea resources, USAID Mikajy will provide them with tools and knowledge to ensure those resources are available for generations to come.

Earlier in the day, Mission Director John L. Dunlop inaugurated the new USAID Mikajy office

Photo: USAID / Bruno Rasamoel

The new USAID Hay Tao office is staffed by a team of experts in strategy, capacity development, advocacy, climate change and engagement of women and youth. This project is implemented by a consortium led by Pact, with partners Alliance Voahary Gasy (AVG), Solidarité des Intervenants sur le Foncier (SIF), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Coastal Resources Center of the University of Rhode Island (URI-CRC).

The new USAID Mikajy office houses highly experienced specialists who support teams in the project’s two regions of intervention. USAID Mikajy is implemented by the firm Tetra Tech ARD, and supported by partners including Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA (NCBA-CLUSA), Inter Church Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO), Multi-Sector Information Service (MSIS), and Viamo.