Residents learning about fire management.

Our fire management program – Atiala Salama (which means good forest) – uses multiple tools to aid in protecting lemur habitat from destruction by fire. We create fire breaks, monitor forests, and educate local residents about the role lemurs play in a healthy forest and how to mitigate the impacts of fire on forests and lemurs. Our fire-monitoring program serves to not only allow us to record and measure the impact of fire in the area, but also has the benefit of providing inherent protection to the region, just by having a consistent flow of people committed to protecting the forest move through the area.

Our community-centered approach means that we work directly with local residents of the national park and look for collaborative solutions to fire management. A major benefit of working with local residents is that we can help instill a sense of ownership to the fire management project and pride for contributing to protecting their communities and forests. By hiring local community members and providing a consistent salary for monitoring the area, we will provide a strong financial benefit and further incentive to work to protect the forest and the lemurs. Working with community members has the added benefit of building capacity within the communities we work and gives us opportunities to train potential employees for other and future projects.