Andriamanandimbisoa (Dimby) Razafimpahanana

Project Coordinator, Wetland Knowledge Base (Madagascar)

About me

I began my career in 1995 as a Geographic Information System (GIS) Assistant with Care International/Wildlife Conservation Society in Masoala National Park, located in the North-Eastern region of Madagascar. Over the years, I've collaborated with various environmental organizations, including WWF, Madagascar National Parks, and the National Office of Environment. In 2005, I returned to the Wildlife Conservation Society, where I worked until 2022 as a Project Coordinator for a Malagasy Biodiversity Data Portal. After spending two years as the Operational Director in the private sector, focusing on the distribution of essential goods, I chose to return to my passion for nature conservation by joining WWT, allowing me to work once again with an environmental conservation organization.

My role

Within WWT, I will serve as the Project Coordinator for the Wetlands Knowledge Base. This project aims to create a web portal for sharing data and information about wetlands in Madagascar. The purpose is to support Madagascar’s National Wetland Strategy and Action Plan by developing a locally owned, open-access geodatabase of wetland information. The project will incorporate Earth Observation to monitor wetland extent, condition, and drivers of degradation, while also facilitating the dissemination of related knowledge products.

Experience and interests

• Wildlife conservation and biodiversity protection
• Environmental education and community outreach
• Data management and GIS applications in conservation

Publications

• Eklund, J., Zavaleta Cheek, J., Andriamaro, L., Bakoliarimisa, T. M., Galitsky, C., Rabearivololona, O., Rakotobe, D. J., Ralison, H. O., Randriamiharisoa, L. O., Rasamoelinarivo, J., Rasolofoson, D., Ratsirarson, J., Razafimpahanana, A., Temba, E. M., Pyhälä, A., Miller, D. C. 2022. Insights from practitioners in Madagascar to inform more effective international conservation funding. Madagascar Conservation & Development 17, 1: 29–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/mcd.v17i1.3
• Vieilledent G., M. Nourtier, C. Grinand, M. Pedrono, A. Clausen, T. Rabetrano, J.-R. Rakotoarijaona, B. Rakotoarivelo, F. A. Rakotomalala, L. Rakotomalala, A. Razafimpahanana, J. M. Ralison, and F. Achard It’s not only poverty: uncontrolled global trade and bad governance are responsible for unceasing deforestation in Western Madagascar bioRxiv 2020.07.30.229104; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.30.229104
• Julia P. G. Jones, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Anitry N. Ratsifandrihamanana, James E. M. Watson, Herizo T. Andrianandrasana, Mar Cabeza, Joshua E. Cinner, Steven M. Goodman, Frank Hawkins, Russell A. Mittermeier, Ando L. Rabearisoa, O. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo, Julie H. Razafimanahaka, Andriamandimbisoa R. Razafimpahanana, Lucienne Wilmé and Patricia C. Wright : Last chance for Madagascar’s biodiversity. Nature Sustainability 2, 350–352 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0288-0
• L. A. Acosta, B. A. Wintle, Z. Benedek, P. B. Chhetri, S. J. Heymans, A. C. Onur, R. L. Painter, A. Razafimpahanana and K. Shoyama, 2016: Using scenarios and models to inform decision making in policy design and implementation. In IPBES (2016): The methodological assessment report on scenarios and models of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Jeanne de Mazières, Tantely Tianarisoa, Andriamandimbisoa Razafimpahanana, Tom F. Allnut, Rémi Ratsimbazafy, Catherine Gabrié, Neil Alloncle, Jean-Pascal Quod, Jean-Benoît Nicet, Combining conservation planning tools with expert knowledge to identify priority marine conservation areas in the Western Indian Ocean Marine Ecoregion. Conference Paper, January 2010.