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	WINNER Best Volunteering Organisation

Why Lemur Venture?

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Despite their biological significance, much remains unknown about the basic biology of lemurs. Research to gain a greater understanding of these prosimians and their natural habitat is of tremendous importance. Today there are some 70 different taxa of lemur in existence, all of which are endemic to Madagascar, an island occupying twice the land area of the UK and supporting about 4% of the world's total biodiversity in plants and animals.

Over 85% of the island's species are endemic, and while new species continue to be discovered, Madagascar has lost an estimated 90% of its original forest cover. All this, combined with it being one of the world's most impoverished countries, makes Madagascar widely regarded as the planet's highest conservation priority.

The program will provide you with experience of working in a small grassroots development agency, and an excellent background for anyone wanting to pursue a career in conservation. This is an invaluable opportunity for you to gain on-the-ground experience that will assist you in pursuing a career in conservation work, with an organisation that has a proven track record in this field.

You will acquire the following skills:

Knowledge of how a small grassroots NGO operates
Ability to work within a multi-cultural environment
Efficient teamwork skills
Understanding how poverty effects conservation
Understanding of biology research methods
Basic field skills in areas such as animal behaviour, feeding ecology, conservation biology, lemur censusing, home range studies, community natural resource management and habitat management
Basic understanding of Malagasy language

Awards

Azafady's project coordinators are among an award-winning team. Azafady projects over the years have received many prestigious endorsements such as those from Sir David Attenborough, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (UK) and Duke Primate Centre (USA). It has won a number of coveted awards such as the Sting and Trudie Styler Award for Conservation & Human Rights (one of the Whitley Foundation's awards - the so-called 'Green Oscars', presented to the organisation by HRH Princess Anne); two Flora and Fauna International 100% Fund cash awards for conservation research and four Walt Disney Foundation awards for conservation research. Azafady was awarded funding from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Netherlands for its Community Forest Management project. Most recently Pioneer Madagascar was Highly Commended in the Best Volunteering Programme category of the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards organised by online travel agent responsibletravel.com, in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine.

Any questions? Feel free to call +44 (0) 20 8960 6629 or email us at mark@azafady.org.

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