The year 2011 marked an important advancement for Association Vahatra with the creation of its own publishing house, focusing on a series entitled “Guides sur la diversité biologique de Madagascar” [Guides to the biological diversity of Madagascar]. For individuals that have grown up over the past 40 years in, for example, North America, portions of Latin America or Western Europe, information on regional plants and animals are readily available in field guide format. These types of books, generally presented by taxonomic group (e.g. ferns, reptiles, birds, etc.) and region, revolutionized making information on biodiversity available and penetrable for members of different age and social groups in many various regions of the world. Such guides provide the means for individuals to become familiar with different plants and animals found in areas where they live or travel, and, most critically, integrating this familiarity into how they conceive the importance of the natural world. It is not an exaggeration to state that this type of guides have led to the “greening” of different sectors of society in numerous countries. For Madagascar, which is so rich in biological diversity and being one of the principal conservation priorities in the tropics, the previous lack of such books created a considerable void, which Association Vahatra strongly believes needed to be filled.

For information on how to obtain copies of these books, please send a message to malagasynature@gmail.com or write to Association Vahatra, BP 3972, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.