Sustainable Financing and Inclusive Management to Perpetuate Madagascars Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) - GEF Project ID: 11802

The report provides a comprehensive safeguard framework for a GEF-funded project in Madagascar's Diana, Manambolo-Tsiribihina, and Mahafaly seascapes. It identifies potential risks—including elite capture, livelihood disruption due to resource access restrictions, and gender-based violence—and outlines mitigation strategies. The framework mandates site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) and Livelihood Restoration Plans (LRPs) to ensure that the expansion and legalization of LMMAs do not adversely affect vulnerable populations, such as migrant fishers and women.

• The project targets three specific seascapes in western Madagascar: Diana in the north, Manambolo-Tsiribihina (MTB) in the center, and Mahafaly in the southwest, focusing on the conservation of mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds.
• Madagascar is highly vulnerable to climate change, with a threefold increase in climate events over the last 20 years, including 35 cyclones, 8 floods, and 5 severe droughts.
• Climate change is projected to reduce the maximum catch potential for fisheries in Madagascar by up to 6% by 2040 and nearly 10% by 2050 under pessimistic scenarios.
• The project is classified as Category B, indicating moderate environmental and social risks that are site-specific, reversible, and manageable.
• A primary social risk is 'elite capture,' where influential families or customary elites dominate local governance bodies, potentially excluding women, youth, migrants, and minority lineages from decision-making and benefit-sharing.
• The implementation of LMMAs may restrict access to natural resources through seasonal closures or gear bans, which could disproportionately impact migrant fishers and women who lack formal recognition in governance structures.
• Gender inequalities are significant, with 23.9% of women aged 15–49 being illiterate and a maternal mortality rate of 391 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020.
• The project identifies risks of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH), particularly where power imbalances exist between project staff/contractors and local communities, or as a backlash against empowered women.
• The project establishes a Process Framework to ensure that any Project Affected People (PAP) experiencing livelihood loss due to resource restrictions receive mitigation or compensation, such as vocational training or in-kind support.
• The framework includes a strict exclusion list of activities that will not be financed, including those causing soil/water degradation, physical displacement, or the use of WHO Class IA and IB pesticides.

APA

WWF International (2025). Sustainable Financing and Inclusive Management to Perpetuate Madagascars Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) - GEF Project ID: 11802. https://assets.worldwildlife.org/www-prd/documents/ESSSupportingDocument_GBFF_MadagascarESMFFinal_1.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Sustainable Financing and Inclusive Management to Perpetuate Madagascars Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) - GEF Project ID: 11802. 2025. https://assets.worldwildlife.org/www-prd/documents/ESSSupportingDocument_GBFF_MadagascarESMFFinal_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Sustainable Financing and Inclusive Management to Perpetuate Madagascars Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) - GEF Project ID: 11802 |date=4 September 2025 |url=https://assets.worldwildlife.org/www-prd/documents/ESSSupportingDocument_GBFF_MadagascarESMFFinal_1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2025sustainable, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Sustainable Financing and Inclusive Management to Perpetuate Madagascars Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) - GEF Project ID: 11802}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://assets.worldwildlife.org/www-prd/documents/ESSSupportingDocument_GBFF_MadagascarESMFFinal_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }