Mahaliana: a lab in Madagascar

Hybrid profit model, Unknown IP model, Market Shaping Phase, Not accepting new members
We build a place to uncover the tiny threats to King Julian, the fosa and their friends in Madagascar.

The Problem

More than ever, conservation action requires the engagement of scientists from different disciplines to identify and address the complex, interconnected threats facing plants and animals. Advancements in genetic and molecular techniques are enabling these methods to play an increasingly important role in conservation biology, including identifying species for taxonomic and forensic purposes, assessing the genetic diversity within isolated populations, identification of emerging infectious diseases and health assessments of individuals and populations. These scientific research projects require advanced laboratory facilities that are, for the moment only available in Western countries. Understandably, the exportation and importation of biological samples from endangered species is highly regulated and requires the acquisition of permits from both local and international agencies. Acquiring these permits can be cumbersome and time-consuming; it can delay the diagnosis of diseases that threaten wild populations or the publication of conservation relevant research results. In some cases, these delays and complications may hinder research efforts or even lead to terminating the research altogether. The absence of facilities to perform these analyses in Madagascar can lead to unnecessary delays in developing data-driven conservation strategies.

Our Proposal

Here, we propose the establishment of a veterinary and molecular ecology laboratory in Madagascar. This laboratory would be available to and benefit a wide range of international and Malagasy researchers by offering services that would enable the timely publication of their research results. Our goal is to improve the health of endangered wild animals, guide conservation policies in Madagascar, build local expertise in molecular biology and ultimately contribute to the conservation of Madagascar’s fauna and flora.

We Assume that...

Constraints to Overcome

To the best of our knowledge, there is no wildlife veterinarian or biologist trained in the molecular techniques and diagnostics that are based in Madagascar. Before our startup, all the researchers that collect biological samples for analysis for scientific and conservation purposes were required to export the samples to Western laboratories. With Mahaliana we will address two major constraints that will allow significant development in conservation biology in Madagascar. First of all, we will allow a faster turn-around of sample processing and laboratory analysis, providing timely results for research of conservation importance. Secondly, we will build the local expertise of Malagasy scientists and conservationists to perform the analysis and complete research locally.

Current Work

Our goal is that half of the researchers working in Madagascar (currently estimated at 200) for conservation and research purposes will use our laboratory facilities and services to process their samples. Our second goal is to train 20 Malagasy students every year in molecular biology/ecology and help increase the number of publications of conservation relevance produced by Malagasy scientists.

Current Needs

We will need expertise and advices in business management and funding for additional lab equipment.

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