StopRats
Stoprats is a multi-partner project financed by the Secretariat of the African and Caribbean Group, led by Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom and including countries like Namibia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland , Tanzania. The general objectives of the project are to build capacity in science, in technology and innovation in the management of rodent pests and to contribute to the sustainable development of Africa and Madagascar, so that these institutions could have knowledge of the main indicators of poverty through rodent impacts on agricultural production and food security systems.
Students from the Institute of Technical Science and Environment, University of Fianarantsoa, from the Animal Biology Department, University of Antananarivo, a team of environmental educators, and colleagues from the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, provide the smooth running of the activities of this project.
In 2014, fifteen scientists from the countries members of Stoprats project were in Madagascar for the field school. Then the series of investigations were conducted in the Malagasy highplands to have knowledge about the extent of damage caused by rats and the methods used to fight against these problems. Meetings with stakeholders on the problems of rats, namely, the responsible of the agriculture, breeding and health were also conducted in Fianarantsoa. Researches on diets and habitats used by the rats and endemic rodents, by using stable isotopes have been undertaken as part of this project.
