A unique partnership between the local community, local and international NGOs and institutions aiming to show the economic, conservation and fisheries benefits of Madagascar’s first community run experimental Marine Protected Area (MPA). In June 2003 a collaborative venture was launched in Andavadoaka between Blue Ventures Conservation and the IHSM, Madagascar’s national marine research institute, in response to the need to develop a better understanding of the area’s unique marine and coastal habitats. This collaboration quickly expanded to include a range of additional partners, both within and outside the village. Through the implementation of Madagascar’s first experimental community-run Marine Protected Area (MPA), the partnership is working to develop management solutions to help sustain the traditional artisanal fishing economy as well as to minimise the environmental impacts Andavadoakan of human activities on the region’s marine and coastal environments.