“Mangroves are our entire life. If they were to disappear, our community would vanish too, because that’s where we live and fish. Our survival depends on them since fishing is our main livelihood here,” recalled the community’s president, René Arture. Strongly committed to protecting this ecosystem, the local community has managed to restore about 79 hectares over the past two years, in 2024 and 2025.

Today, community-based ecotourism is gradually becoming a key source of livelihood for the community, creating more than a hundred jobs including six cooks, five eco-guides, eighty canoeists in charge of transfers, and nine women hosts. Since May 2025, the organization of these activities has been completely restructured to better welcome visitors.

“This year, we already see more visitors than before. In the past, we sometimes had to wait two whole months to receive any. Now, we get visitors almost every two days, even if it’s not yet a large number,” explains Andriamparany Nivo Lalao, head cook. The site offers two types of accommodation: homestays in houses prepared to receive travelers through specific training, or camping in tents. The canoeists, organized by rotation, handle the tours and transfers, while the guides lead visits along different circuits, constantly striving to improve their communication with tourists. Part of the income generated from community-based ecotourism is then redistributed to the community to support patrols and natural resource management.

For many residents, this shift has transformed their lives, as shared by Ralison Zaina, a canoeist and guide: “Before, we were exclusively fishermen. With ecotourism, our lives have changed. We discovered a new profession and a new window to the world. We learned to welcome people from elsewhere and, above all, to diversify our sources of income.”

Andriamparany Parfait Johanesa, Vice President of the Kivalo community-based organization, and also a canoeist and guide, confirms this change: “Today, we are used to interacting with foreign visitors. It motivates us to grow, to learn, and to share. It’s a true source of wealth.”

For the cooks, the journey is also a source of pride, as explained by Andriamparany Nivo Lalao: “Before, we didn’t really know how to cook for clients. Thanks to the training sessions, we gained new skills and even received a certificate. With this job, I can contribute to my children’s school fees. It’s a great source of pride.”

WWF Madagascar and Miarakap support the local communities of Kivalo in developing sustainable ecotourism through diversified assistance. This includes governance model development and technical support for micro-entrepreneurs in several areas: entrepreneurship, professionalization of catering and hospitality activities, reception and accommodation, guiding techniques, and language learning. Miarakap also helps communities promote and market Kivalo’s ecotourism products. The objective is to enable communities to manage their ecotourism activities independently and sustainably.