How A Local Hero Changed the Fate of a Rainforest
Luis Alberto Pérez Martínez—Don Luis, as he’s known locally—has spent years learning the trails of Sierra Llorona. As a park ranger in Colón province, Panama, he knows every trail, every canopy gap, every sound the forest makes. So when the sound changed one February morning—engines and chainsaws where there should have been birdsong—he knew something was wrong. “The first thing I saw was a crew cutting down trees,” he recounts. The workers claimed to be government personnel sent to begin road construction through the forest. Don Luis acted quickly: he photographed the site, recorded GPS coordinates, and contacted Guido Berguido, Executive Director of Conservation Allies partner ADOPTA. The engineer ordered the logging to stop—but the next day, the crews returned. With Guido’s backing, Don Luis took the case to Panama City. A month later, ADOPTA mounted a protest at the site that stretched nearly two weeks and held firm until a court temporarily suspended the project. Why Sierra Llorona Matters Sierra Llorona is no ordinary forest. Nestled between the Panama Canal and the Atlantic slope of Colón province, its ancient primary rainforest shelters Jaguars, Harpy eagles, Baird’s tapirs, and the Critically Endangered Limosa harlequin frog. It also forms a critical link in the Mesoamerican Biodiversity Corridor, connecting Panama’s Soberanía and Chagres national parks and serving as a vital passage for wildlife moving across the region. The road in question is the Caribbean Corridor—a $91 million highway planned to run 17.6 miles along the Colón coast, with the stated goal of boosting tourism and local commerce. Road construction threatens Sierra Llorona not only through direct habitat loss, but by opening the forest to illegal hunting, logging, gold prospecting, and invasive species. Panama law requires a full Environmental Impact Assessment for projects of this scale—but the highway was deliberately divided into multiple sections, each evaluated separately, which critics argued was designed to make the project’s impacts appear more moderate than they actually were when considered as a whole. A Hard-Won Victory The court suspension that ADOPTA’s protest helped force didn’t cancel the construction of the road, but it did create the opening for something larger. With the project under legal scrutiny and public attention focused on the region, ADOPTA has been working with Panama’s Ministry of Environment to make the case that the existing Protected Area is far too small to withstand the pressures a new highway will bring—and conversations about significantly expanding protections in the region are ongoing. For Don Luis, who raised the alarm alone on a trail that February morning, it is a hard-won start, and a reminder that acting quickly, even in the face of uncertainty, can change the course of what is protected and what is lost.
How Camera Traps Are Shedding Light On The Secretive Leopards Of South Africa’s Cape Mountains
When camera traps photographed a female leopard nicknamed “Stella” on South Africa’s Simonsberg mountain in 2010, researchers had no idea she’d still be there 15 years later. But she is—and the reason researchers know this isn’t just from their own surveys. It’s because our partner, the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT), has built a citizen science network where private landowners across South Africa’s Cape Fold Mountains run their own camera traps and submit their observations to the CLT’s leopard data portal—a collaboration that’s proven invaluable for tracking individual leopards over time. Late in 2025, the CLT completed a five-month camera trap survey across the Boland Mountain Complex (BMC) with support from Conservation Allies. The survey identified 38 individual leopards—including at least two females accompanied by cubs—across 965 square miles of rugged mountain landscape. When Landowners Become Custodians One of the survey’s most encouraging findings was that several individuals, including Stella, remain in the same area for a relatively long period, which is a good indicator of habitat stability. These leopards have been photographed in the same territories for years by the CLT and also by landowners contributing data to the CLT’s citizen science database. This matters because with leopard density in the Western Cape being comparatively very low, understanding whether individual leopards maintain stable territories over time is critical for conservation planning. The citizen science network is providing promising data that this is indeed the case in many areas. Apart from landowners with their own camera traps contributing data to the CLT, other landowners are also playing an important part in the research. The recent CLT survey in the BMC not only included vast swathes of officially Protected Areas (PA), but also 29 private properties surrounding these PA’s. The willing participation of so many landowners in welcoming and granting the researchers access is good news for conservation. The CLT’s efforts into building relationships, and sharing camera trap images and results back with landowners have helped to improve their appreciation and knowledge of nature, encouraging them to be long-term custodians of biodiversity. The collaboration between the CLT and private landowners demonstrates what’s possible when conservation extends beyond Protected Area boundaries. Armed with this data, the CLT can now target conservation resources where they’re needed most—protecting key habitats and reducing human-wildlife conflict in critical leopard corridors. For Stella and the other leopards of these mountains, the partnership between researchers and landowners may be their best chance at survival.
The Race to Protect Madagascar’s Last Golden Frogs
Deep in Madagascar’s misty eastern rainforests, a frog no bigger than a walnut is running out of time—and space. The Critically Endangered Golden mantella frog is hard to miss where it still survives. These bright orange amphibians look like they’ve been dipped in highlighter ink. That electric color is a warning—the frogs derive their skin color from their diet of toxic ants, making them poisonous to predators. But poison won’t protect them from disappearing habitat. The Golden mantella survives only in three tiny forest patches totaling less than four square miles. This irreplaceable ecosystem, which has taken centuries to develop, is disappearing at a catastrophic speed. Forest ponds essential for breeding are vanishing as trees are cleared for rice paddies through slash-and-burn agriculture and streams are poisoned by illegal gold mining. Recently, Angelo Ramy Mandimbihasina, one of our Madagascar Conservation Officers, traveled to Mangabe-Ranomena-Sahasarotra Protected Area—a 67,600-acre expanse that includes one of these critical patches—to develop emergency conservation strategies alongside Madagasikara Voakajy, Conservation Allies’ partner who manages the area. The forest faces intense pressure. In 2023 alone, Mangabe lost 6,300 acres (7% of its total area) to illegal activity, making it one of Madagascar’s most at-risk Protected Areas. If deforestation continues at this pace, the forest—and the Golden mantellas within it—could disappear within a decade. Connecting the Dots The immediate priority is stopping forest loss through strengthened patrol efforts. Madagasikara Voakajy is working to expand monitoring and enforcement to reduce pressure from illegal clearing and mining. Without stopping deforestation, no other conservation measure can succeed–you cannot restore what continues to be destroyed. When primary forest loss is brought under control, longer-term strategies like reforestation and connecting isolated forests together can make a difference. Extending protection to Beparasy Forest and establishing corridors linking Mangabe to neighboring Protected Areas would create pathways for wildlife to move between reserves. A Frog Worth Fighting For When we protect habitat for the Golden mantella, we’re protecting the whole ecosystem: the forest ponds where they breed, the lemurs in the canopy above, and 15,000 people living around the reserve who depend on healthy forests for clean water and air. The clock is ticking. But with strategic protection and partnership between Conservation Allies and Madagasikara Voakajy, there’s still time to ensure this brilliant flash of orange doesn’t disappear forever.
Conservation Allies Expands Global Impact Through Nature Crime Alliance Partnership
We are excited to announce that Conservation Allies has joined the Nature Crime Alliance, a global initiative that brings together governments, civil society organizations, law enforcement agencies, and businesses to tackle nature crime—illegal logging, mining, wildlife trafficking, and more—that devastate ecosystems worldwide. A Shared Mission Launched in 2023 and hosted by the World Resources Institute, the Nature Crime Alliance enhances collaboration across sectors and geographies to raise political will, mobilize financial resources, and bolster operational capacity to identify, disrupt, and prosecute those who profit from nature’s destruction. This mission aligns perfectly with Conservation Allies’ work. For years, we’ve supported local conservation organizations on the front lines of environmental crime throughout Latin America, Madagascar, and Africa. We’re a founding partner of the IUCN International Ranger Awards, recognizing rangers who risk their lives to protect wildlife. In Colombia and Ecuador, we strengthen the operational capacity of groups countering illegal activities. In Madagascar, we finance environmental lawyers pursuing and prosecuting perpetrators. “There is no time more urgent and necessary than now to work together with multi-sector partners through the Nature Crime Alliance towards the common goal of protecting nature,” said Dr. Caitlin Eschmann, Conservation Allies’ Executive Director. Stronger Together The Nature Crime Alliance membership connects our 49 partner organizations with a global network of expertise, law enforcement collaboration, shared tools and technologies, and greater visibility for their critical work. For the NCA, Conservation Allies brings direct connection to local organizations in biodiversity hotspots, on-the-ground intelligence, proven support models, and a network of rangers and community defenders essential to conservation success. Our membership reflects our belief that conservation success depends on supporting those closest to the land and wildlife. Through the Alliance, we can ensure these frontline defenders have the resources, connections, and support they need to succeed in protecting our planet’s remarkable biodiversity.
A turning Point for Isalo: How Smarter Patrols Stopped Illegal Charcoal
Isalo National Park is one of Madagascar’s most iconic Protected Areas, where sandstone peaks tower over deep canyons and natural pools. The park’s forests are home to unique biodiversity including the Endangered Malagasy rainbow frog (found only in Isalo’s canyons), the Endangered Ring-tailed lemur, and the Critically Endangered Verreaux’s sifaka. Pressure on these forests intensified in the early 2000s when the nearby town of Ilakaka experienced a sapphire boom that drew thousands of miners from across Madagascar. But as the gemstone deposits declined, many miners turned to illegal charcoal production and timber harvesting inside the National Park—it generated income quickly, and the risks were low as there was a lack of patrols and park enforcement. Yet the cost to Isalo’s forests has been severe. Since 2022, Madagascar National Parks has deployed regular park ranger patrols to deter charcoal and timber loggers. But as soon as patrols left the park the perpetrators returned to cut down the same endangered trees to feed the lucrative charcoal networks stretching back to cities. The trees they wanted most were Heza—a rare Malagasy endemic found in only two locations worldwide, one of them being Isalo National Park. The Shift With support from Conservation Allies and FAPBM, Madagascar National Parks made a strategic shift in 2024: to deploy extended Conservation Brigades—a coordinated team of rangers, conservationists, and law enforcement— on 15-day missions to locate illegal charcoalers and loggers in order to apprehend and prosecute them. The impact was immediate. Several charcoalers and loggers were arrested. Others quickly realized the risks were too great to wait out patrols, so they abandoned their illegal activities and left Isalo. Seasonal timing mattered as well. During the wet season from December to June, the Conservation Brigade could make arrests without triggering possible retaliatory fires that spread rapidly during dry months. With sustained patrol presence reducing extraction pressure, Heza forests finally gained the breathing room needed for recovery. What Remains Fragile What Isalo has proven is that when conservation strategies adapt to people’s behaviors and enforcement becomes more effective, protection is secured, ecosystems can recover, and meaningful progress becomes possible. For Heza, the wildlife, and the communities that depend on Isalo’s survival, this shift in strategy has been critical. So while the success at Isalo is real, it is still fragile. Charcoal producers may return if the Conservation Brigades stop patrolling. Conservation Allies and FAPBM remain committed to supporting the program, but sustained funding isn’t guaranteed. With continued support, the recovery can become permanent.
The Ranger Who Stopped Paying for Fires—And Saved a Forest
How one woman’s leadership transformed Madagascar’s Menabe-Antimena from ecological crisis to conservation breakthrough Dr. Soary Randrianjafizanaka had a problem: the fires kept coming. As Director of the Menabe-Antimena Protected Area in western Madagascar, she watched year after year as flames tore through one of the planet’s most irreplaceable forests—home to the world’s smallest primate, Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur, and dry forests found nowhere else on Earth. Her team responded quickly, paying local community members to help extinguish the blazes. It seemed like the right thing to do. But the fires kept getting worse. Then Soary and her team at Fanamby Association—our partner organization managing the protected area—discovered a troubling pattern: some of the same people collecting payments to fight fires were the ones setting them. The well-intentioned incentive had backfired spectacularly. So she made a controversial call: stop paying people to put out fires. “It was not an easy decision,” Soary reflects. “But we had to be honest about what was working and what wasn’t. The forest couldn’t afford for us to keep doing the same thing.” The Turnaround What happened next stunned even the most optimistic conservationists. In 2025, Menabe-Antimena achieved a record drop in fire incidents—55-65% fewer fires than in 2024, with no severe fire peaks for the first time in years. The 516,000-acre protected area, which had been losing forest at catastrophic rates (over 5% annually in the worst years), is now stabilizing. In 2024, forest loss dropped to just 1,621 acres—a 58% reduction from the previous year. Soary’s team redirected resources into fire prevention: building firebreaks, training rapid-response brigades, deploying satellite detection systems, and working with local villages to understand why fires were being set in the first place. Communities that once saw the protected area as an obstacle now play an active role in reporting illegal activities. “The community once saw this forest as merely an impediment to destroy for agriculture to take over,” Soary says. “Now they see that the forest protects their own precious needs—such as providing water year round for their rice fields and needs, for their future.” Recognition and Reality In 2025, Soary’s leadership earned her the International Ranger Award at the IUCN World Conservation Congress—a recognition of her courage, her commitment to community rights, and her determination to defend one of Madagascar’s most threatened ecosystems under genuinely dangerous conditions. But Soary is quick to temper any celebration. “This is fragile,” she insists. “One bad year, one funding gap, and we could lose everything we’ve gained.” Menabe-Antimena’s recovery is real but reversible. Continued community engagement, stronger rapid-response capacity, and sustained funding are necessities. What It Proves Through our partnership with Fanamby and leaders like Soary, we’re seeing what works in conservation: local leadership that can adapt strategies honestly, community investment that creates genuine partnership, and the courage to admit when well-intentioned approaches aren’t working. For the first time in years, Menabe-Antimena has a fighting chance. For donors and partners, this year proves that investing in local leaders and trusting their judgment delivers results. The world’s smallest primate—and the forest it calls home—is counting on it. Dr. Soary Randrianjafizanaka in the center wearing yellow, surrounded by Conservation Brigade members.
After Devastating Attack, Madagascar’s Indigenous Forest Defenders Need Help to Rebuild
This week, the President of the Makirovana Association—an Indigenous community organization (VOI) that co-manages the Makirovana-Tsihomanaomby Protected Area in northeastern Madagascar and a Conservation Allies partner—reported a devastating and violent attack on their village by illegal gold miners. More than 80 homes were destroyed, vital conservation infrastructure was burned, and one community conservationist was kidnapped. Donate Now Two weeks earlier, the Makirovana community patrol uncovered a clandestine mining camp operating deep inside the Protected Area. Police arrested two miners, who were released only after formally committing not to return. But last week, in retaliation, a larger group of illegal miners launched a coordinated assault on villages around the Protected Area. They targeted families directly involved in protecting the forest—smashing homes, threatening residents, and forcing terrified villagers to flee into the forest. One of the members of the Association, trying to prevent the destruction, was kidnapped by the gold miners and taken away. For their safety, the Makirovana Association evacuated many families to a temporary shelter in the nearby city of Sambava. The violence escalated over the weekend, with miners returning to raze 88 family homes, destroy the village’s chief’s house, and burn all conservation facilities, including ten native tree nurseries and reforestation sites. The attackers openly stated their intent: to intimidate and eliminate any community members standing in the way of illegal mining inside the Protected Area. Despite the trauma and danger, the Makirovana communities remain steadfast in their commitment to defend their forests and their rights as Indigenous stewards of this critical landscape. Their courage galvanized action—local authorities and citizens called for immediate intervention. Yesterday, a joint force of more than 60 armed officers from the gendarmerie, police, and military deployed to the Makirovana region. They have begun arrests despite armed resistance and are working to secure the Protected Area and protect the communities whose livelihoods and culture are tied to its survival. The operation is ongoing, but fortunately, the kidnapped Indigenous conservationist was safely released. HOW YOU CAN HELP The Makirovana Indigenous community has lost nearly everything. Families who risk their safety daily to preserve Madagascar’s irreplaceable forests now need urgent help to rebuild their homes and restore the conservation facilities that protect this biodiverse landscape. Your support today will: Rebuild 88 destroyed homes for displaced families Restore nurseries and reforestation infrastructure Strengthen community-led patrols protecting the Makirovana-Tsihomanaomby Forest Uphold the rights and safety of Indigenous forest defenders This is a moment when solidarity truly matters. Please consider an urgent contribution to help the people of Makirovana recover and continue safeguarding their forests for future generations. Donate Now Note: VOI stands for Vondron’Olona Ifotony,local grassroots community associations in Madagascar that are crucial for conservation efforts. They manage natural resources within their territories by creating and enforcing management plans, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring the sustainable use of resources for their livelihoods. These community-based efforts are supported by government and non-governmental organizations to build capacity through training and funding, strengthening local stewardship for long-term conservation success.
Conservation Allies Partner Advances Conservation Law Enforcement in Madagascar’s Spiny Forests
Madagascar’s spiny forests are among the most unique and threatened ecosystems on Earth, but they face relentless pressure from illegal logging and land clearing. The PK32–Ranobe Protected Area—one of the largest PAs for Madagascar’s spiny forest and dry forest ecotone, which harbors species found nowhere else—was established in 2015 thanks to WWF. Tragically, almost immediately after the declaration of PK32–Ranobe Protected Area WWF abandoned its management and protection, leading to accelerating deforestation since 2015. In early 2025, the FARAFATSI Association—a local organization established to save PK32–Ranobe Protected Area, was established with support from Conservation Allies. Throughout October and November 2025, FARAFATSI led multiple missions to change this reality, demonstrating how local partnerships can turn the tide against illegal deforestation in PK32–Ranobe, even in the face of powerful opposition. October: Four-Day Enforcement Mission In mid-October, FARAFATSI joined forest officers, gendarmes, and local authorities for an intensive four-day patrol through the Protected Area. The team intercepted two trucks carrying approximately 120 massive timber logs, extinguished an active forest fire, dismantled three illegal settlement huts , and destroyed several charcoal kilns—a leading driver of forest loss. Using traditional community rules called “DINA,” offenders transporting pirogues (small boats) and timber signed commitments to cease illegal activities. November: Eviction Planning and Major Timber Seizure Recent observations revealed major deforestation hotspots where fires and forest clearing continue despite protected status. FARAFATSI worked with regional environment authorities (DREDD) to convene the District-level Crisis Management Committee. On November 11th, the District Chief chaired a meeting with representatives from the Gendarmerie, Police, Military, DREDD, and Judiciary, who unanimously approved an eviction operation of logging camps. While waiting on court approval to carry out the mission, FARAFATSI continues assisting DREDD with operational planning. Meanwhile, illegal timber extraction typically occurs at night and on weekends when enforcement is limited. To counter this, Conservation Allies funds FARAFATSI’s Conservation Brigades for targeted patrols during high-risk periods. On a two-day patrol mission in mid November, a Conservation Brigade intercepted a truck carrying 486 wooden planks and 18 timber logs. The truck was transferred to DREDD custody, with formal legal proceedings beginning immediately after. In the days following the seizure, FARAFATSI faced significant pressure from multiple actors attempting to halt the prosecution. Despite this coordinated pressure from multiple levels of authority, FARAFATSI held firm, ensuring the case would proceed to prosecution. Protecting Madagascar’s Forests Through Partnership The October and November operations underscore both the persistent threats facing PK32–Ranobe’s forests and the effectiveness of the partnership between Conservation Allies and FARAFATSI. Through Conservation Allies’ support—including helping establish FARAFATSI and funding the Conservation Brigades—these collaborative efforts are creating real accountability for environmental crimes. With an eviction operation pending and legal action underway against timber traffickers, FARAFATSI continues proving that determined enforcement can protect even Madagascar’s most threatened landscapes.
SMART Technology Transforms Conservation at Tsinjoriake Protected Area
The Tsinjoriake region lies in southwestern Madagascar, where dry spiny forests meet coastal landscapes rich in endemic wildlife. Across this region, Protected Area managers are embracing new digital conservation tools to help them collect, measure, and evaluate data from Rangers to improve the effectiveness of managing their parks and reserves. The Conservation Allies team in Madagascar is helping train and assist our partners in the deployment of those tools, especially the SMART and EarthRanger apps that are now merging as one platform to support Protected Area field teams and managers. These digital tools help rangers and managers track wildlife populations, monitor threats like poaching and illegal logging, and measure the effectiveness of their conservation efforts. The systems work across smartphones and computers, allowing field teams to record observations in real-time and transform that information into strategic action. Training in the Field This month, Conservation Allies Southern Madagascar Conservation Officer – Antso Razakafamantanantsoa (pronounced Rah-za-fee-mah-nahn-tsoo-uh) visited the Tamia Association, a local organization managing the Tsinjoriake Protected Area near the city of Toliara, Southwest Madagascar, and trained them in the use of SMART. There, the Tamia team configured the SMART App on smartphones supported by Conservation Allies donors, reviewed environmental threats and catalogued the main tree species to create a baseline for monitoring forest health. Seven rangers and conservation staff took the training into the field, smartphones in hand. They documented illegal logging threats, wildlife signs, and patrol routes, transforming the forest into an interactive classroom. Each data point revealed its connection to the larger conservation picture. Back in the office, participants learned to transfer information from smartphones to computers, create reports, and plan strategic patrols. Step by step, they discovered how SMART transforms raw field notes into actionable insights. Patrols are now planned with precision, and conservation teams can identify and respond to threats like illegal logging before damage spreads. New Confidence for Effective Conservation The Tamia Association now has both the tools and the confidence to use SMART effectively and improve conservation actions in the Tsinjoriake Protected Area. Through SMART and EarthRanger, forests and their wildlife are better protected.
Madagascar Takes Center Stage at IUCN’s World Conservation Congress 2025
Madagascar is making headlines at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) with the release of the updated Madagascar Protected Area Outlook 2025, which charts a bold course for the island nation’s conservation future. The comprehensive assessment evaluating the deforestation rates of Madagascar’s 109 Protected Areas is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), FAPBM, Madagascar National Parks, and our 26 Malagasy partners. In a landmark announcement at WCC, Madagascar’s conservation leaders have committed to zero Protected Area forest loss by 2030. This ambitious and critical expansion of protections recognizes Madagascar’s irreplaceable biodiversity—90% of its wildlife exists nowhere else on Earth—and the urgent need to protect it from deforestation, mining, and climate change. The updated Outlook provides both a sobering assessment of current challenges and a practical roadmap for success. Furthermore, Conservation Allies and our Madagascar partners gathered today to further address the current conservation challenges, strategies, and achievements of Madagascar, and the broader African continent. Participating partners included Fanamby, Impact Madagascar, Madagasikara Voakajy, GERP, NEST, ADHET, Dahari, and Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. By increasing global awareness of Madagascar’s critical conservation situation, we’re connecting Malagasy conservation leaders with the global community and working to turn this week’s ambitious commitments into concrete, lasting action. Africa’s presence at WCC represents more than policy commitments—it’s a call to action for the global conservation community to support local partners already working tirelessly to protect some of the world’s most extraordinary ecosystems.