Development of the Madagascar Lemurs Portal (MLP) began in 2016 with a grant from JRS to Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar (WCS) to plan for a data portal to share knowledge to improve conservation efforts of Madagascar’s 110 lemur species. This planning grant resulted in the full implementation of the Madagascar Lemurs Portal, led by the Madagascar Biodiversity Fund (Fondation pour les Aires Protégées et la Biodiversité de Madagascar, FAPBM).  Within three years FAPBM succeeded in implementing a user-friendly portal to support lemur conservation and decision-making efforts. The MLP contains four main components: an online forum for discussions, a species database, map visualizations, and an offline mobile application. These components are enhanced with additional functionalities that include fact sheets on all 110 lemur species and species observation data from other institutions. More than 20 institutions from all regions of the country have agreed to share data and expertise, and MLP data is published on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

This follow-on funding will allow FAPBM to build upon their current momentum, development capacity and knowledge, and ensure that the MLP becomes an essential tool in conservation evaluation and decision-making. Technical aspects will be addressed, but one of the most important aspects of this project will be communication and outreach to bring new users to this tool.

Objectives:

1. Ensure the MLP will become a reference tool for research making and conservation actions.
2. Technically maintain the website and improve its user-friendly aspect.
3. Increase use of the MLP.
4. Develop a strong institutional partnership for financial sustainability.

These aims will be accomplished through technical enhancements and additions, as well as by encouraging stakeholders to advocate for the MLP, promoting participation of the MLP during conferences/workshops and with key organizations, and expanding community outreach activities. Community outreach efforts will be assessed and include social media, MLP forum moderation, and capacity-building sessions with students, researchers, and other users. The team will conduct two field missions, a steering committee meeting, and a workshop with students.  Participation in environmentally themed events and World Lemurs Day celebrated in Madagascar that promote the MLP and popularize the tool will complement the activities and meetings organized through this project.

With COVID-19 restricting travel and meeting with our grantees, JRS invited our projects to submit a short update for the JRS Board of Trustees. Though intended for an internal JRS audience, we loved these videos and share them here with permission. Enjoy!

1. Five project personnel and contractors from FAPBM, WCS, and Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP).
2. Outreach materials, including flyers, booklets, banners, videos, newsletters, and social media posts and sponsorship. Content for the public will be created for use on social media and the MLP forum.
3. At least 3,000 new data occurrence records across all 110 lemur species in the MLP species database.
4. Distribution models for at least 70 taxa and automatic creation of species distribution models.
5. A dynamic interface for lemur research directive.
6. Two scientific articles published about the MLP.
7. A redesigned and user-friendly MLP home page.
8. Evaluations from the four capacity building sessions.
9. Three fundraising sessions and three grant applications submitted for ongoing funding.
10. Two MOUs for financial partnership.

By 2021, the MLP will be a go-to resource and sustainable tool for lemur research and conservation actions. More stakeholders and influential organizations will advocate for the MLP and participation will increase by 25% with at least 300 active users. The MLP will be used as an assessment tool during the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Assessment in 2021, helping to prioritize action for the conservation of lemurs in Madagascar. More students and researchers will use the MLP for research and conservation, but the MLP user types will extend beyond academics to include decision-makers, tourists, the tourism industry, local communities, and the public at large. Collectively, the technical improvements to the MLP based on user feedback, an expanded network of users resulting from community outreach, and efforts to secure future funding will sustain the MLP and continue to provide users with a scientifically robust, user-friendly, open-access tool.

Truong Lova Rakotoarimanana was the communication officer and established the communication strategy for the Madagascar Lemurs Portal at FAPBM. She has a background in environmental management with work experience in environmental impact and health, safety, and environment (HSE) policy at the National Office of Environment (ONE).

Tsiky Rabetrano is an animal biologist with experience in biodiversity data management, biodiversity informatics, GIS databases, and GIS analysis. Before joining WCS as a Biodiversity informatics Specialist, Tsiky worked for FAPBM establishing a Madagascar protected area database. His experience includes working on the Réseau de la Biodiversité de Madagascar (REBIOMA) data portal, a WCS project that aims to promote the use of biodiversity data in conservation and spatial planning. He is also a GBIF mentor with the Madagascar node, where he provides support for data management and publishing issues, including checking the quality of published datasets.

JRS is very excited to support the continued development and evolution of the MLP! The portal is one of the first examples of an interactive biodiversity data and knowledge portal outside of South Africa. The MLP may become the go-to resource for interaction among researchers and to access data and large assemblage of peer-reviewed and grey literature. We hope that conservation planning and conservation status will use the MLP to solidify its essential place in lemur conservation.