Andavadoaka

Andavadoaka
Andavadoaka is located in Madagascar
Andavadoaka
Andavadoaka
Location in Madagascar
Coordinates: 22°04′S 43°14′E / 22.067°S 43.233°E / -22.067; 43.233
Country Madagascar
RegionAtsimo-Andrefana
DistrictMorombe
Elevation
7 m (23 ft)
Population
 (2018)Census
 • Ethnicities
Vezo
Time zoneUTC3 (EAT)
Postal code
618
The beach of Andavadoaka

Andavadoaka is a small fishing village located on the southwest coast of Madagascar. It is located in the Morombe (district), 45 km south of the town of Morombe in the region of Atsimo-Andrefana. It belongs to the rural municipality of Befandefa.

The village lies on the edge of a shallow lagoon protected from the open ocean by a series of fringing and submerged barrier reefs that support substantial coral growth, providing a vital resource base for a local artisanal fishery. Owing to the remoteness and isolation, these coral reefs are thought to possess a significantly higher abundance and diversity of species than other reefs in southwest Madagascar.

Andavadoaka is one of the founding villages of a locally managed marine area. The village won the Equator Prize,[1] awarded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in 2007.

Near Andavodoaka, Biodiversity studies have identified many hundreds of marine species in the waters in the area. The reefs around Andavadoaka represent some of the most well-developed coral reef systems in the Indian Ocean.

  1. ^ UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. "Village of Andavadoaka, Madagascar: Marine Reserves for Octopus." Chapter in "Innovation for Sustainable Development: Local Case Studies from Africa."[1]