Helpsimus

HELPSIMUS is based close to the National Park of Ranomafana but in an unprotected zone which is extremely damaged by the practice of tavy (slash-and-burn agriculture) and where is found the largest wild population of Greater Bamboo lemurs: almost 600 specimens of an overall total between 1000 and 1650 individuals.

Other species of lemurs have been identified and are protected on the program site, including the Red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer), a species hosted at La Palmyre Zoo and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

The Bamboo Lemur program is based around 3 main components:

• the environmental component which aims to help the village associations created by Helpsimus in managing conservation areas where the habitat of the lemurs is preserved and areas where human activities can be developed;
• the socio-economic component which aims to finance agricultural training and thus create additional income for families so that they can limit the clearing of new land, especially where the lemurs are found;
• the education component which encourages and facilitates the education of children from the schools of Helpsimus' partner villages.

The Bamboo Lemur program currently employs about 40 guides from the villages Helpsimus works with. They are responsible for monitoring the groups of lemurs, updating the inventories, recording threats and accompanying the researchers and the eco-volunteers who come studying the behavior of the primates.

Since 2019, a program to guard the paddy fields has been initiated to minimize conflicts between farmers and greater bamboo lemurs who sometimes cause significant damages to the crops.

Other actions include reforestation of the most degraded areas, small-scale development projects (improving yield and irrigation system of the rice fields, developing fish farming and vegetable crop, craftwork training, ecotourism…).

An educator is responsible for organizing outreach activities on biodiversity protection for schoolchildren in the program’s area. Helpsimus also builds and renovates schools and classrooms, manages school canteens and annually provides school materials for more than 600 children.

Palmyre Conservation has been supporting HELPSIMUS since 2012. The Head of Mediation and Education of La Palmyre Zoo helps creating the educational materials used by the association and has trained the local environmental educator.