grantees » Soazara Ranivoarivelo

This grantee is still in the process of their leadership development with the JWH Initiative.

There is not much that would hamper Soazara’s commitment to her work in the conservation of amphibians in Madagascar. Even in financially challenging times, she remains a powerful driving force in the conservation of amphibious species in Madagascar’s Isalo National Park (ISP). In addition to her extensive leadership within the communities surrounding the ISP, her work on endangered terrestrial tortoises in the Tsimanampetsotsa National Park was published.

In 2012, Soazara co-founded the first-of-its-kind EDENa NGO in Madagascar. EDENa focuses on protecting the unique biodiversity, especially amphibians, in the ISP, and further, involve women and youth in environmental protection programs. She takes her time to listen and learn about issues that a community faces. In just a few years, the organisation has made a significant contribution to conservation and developed training programs especially for women and youth.

Soazara aims to bring recognition to the EDENa organisation at the national and international level. In order to do this, she will use her JWH Inititative grant to follow an English course. This course will help her become fluent in the language. As English is many times the working language of academia and for writing grant proposals, this course will give her the skills needed to manage and lead conservation projects at an international level. She is a passionate, bright young woman with great potential to make a significant contribution to environmental conservation even beyond Madagascar.