13-17 September 2015, Analamanga region, Madagascar - ICCA-GSI partners, SGP and the ICCA Consortium, co-organized this workshop with the National Bureau of Tafo Mihaavo and FANONGA to bring multi-level stakeholders together to strengthen the recognition and support to Indigenous peoples and community-conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) in Madagascar.

Madagascar is a cradle of cultures and one of the mega-biodiversity countries of the planet. It includes an abundance of territories and areas that are usually governed, managed and conserved by the local communities. These ICCAs are called Fokonolona in Madagascar. Since the beginning of the new millennium, ICCAs have been identified by various social and cultural actors who have understood that they can help them advance on many important objectives. However, further support in the appropriate recognition for ICCAs is necessary to ensure that communities have collective rights and responsibilities on their lands as well as to promote respect for their traditional knowledge, practices and institutions. Appropriate ICCA recognition and working with local and national authorities on promoting of ICCA sustainable lifestyles, cultural identity and pride in communities help prevent rural exodus and strengthen social peace and security. Similarly, partnerships with civil society organizations will enable the integration of ICCAs’ long-term viability of nature conservation practices that rely more on internal integrity and capacity, rather than on external technical and financial support flows.

The workshop was attended by more than 73 people who gathered in Mantasoa and Andasibe, located in the east of Antananarivo in the Analamanga region. The participatory workshop included presentations, songs and working groups on schematic discussions capturing various landscapes and seascapes with mixed natural and cultural riches or bio-cultures, with a heavy focus on tradition and practices accepted by the Fokonolona.