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Hands-on science to sustain Madagascar's resources and people

About CVB

Centre ValBio (CVB) was created to help both local people and the international community better understand the value of conservation in Madagascar and around the world through research, training, and education. We encourage responsible use of natural resources in order to promote sustainable development in Madagascar.

Prior to the establishment of CVB, the economic survival of rural communities in the area was based almost exclusively on the overuse of natural resources. A core mission of  CVB is to reduce poverty in the area and encourage environmental conservation while simultaneously promoting ecologically and economically sustainable development programs.

Located near the eastern rainforest corridor of the province of Fianarantsoa, CVB is situated very close to Ranomafana National Park, which was established in 1991 as a direct result of the rediscovery of the greater bamboo lemur by Dr. Patricia C.  Wright. In addition to the conservation of the habitat of this critically-endangered lemur, CVB supports local producers of medicinal plants and essential oils, reforestation, weaving cooperatives, conservation clubs, and ecotourism, to name but a few projects.

HISTORY 

1986-1997      Research cabins and tents erected within Ranomafana National Park for behavior ecology and taxonomy research of lemurs, reptiles and amphibians, snails, birds, and small mammals
1988 Initiation of mobile health team to visit 18 villages around the proposed national park
1991 43,500 hectares of rainforest protected as Ranomafana National Park
1993 Initiation of the SBU Fall Semester Study Abroad
1994 Initiation of Conservation Education Team
2000 Purchase of land by MICET and signing of 99-year lease with Research Foundation, SBU
2001-2003 First phase of construction of campus: entrance reception, guard house, drive- way, outdoor classroom pavilion and LovaBe Hall, which houses the dining hall, administrative offices, showers and toilets, and a small research laboratory
2002-2007 Norman and Lucile Packard grant: Integrating Dynamics of Human Resource Use and their effects on Rainforests in Madagascar: Linking Landscape Ecology, Cultural Anthropology, Behavioral ecology, and Applied Mathematics for a Science-Based Strategy against Deforestation in Madagascar
2003 Creation of Centre de Valorization de Biodiversite (CVB) with founders: Stony Brook University, University of Helsinki, University of Antananarivo, and University of Fianarantsoa, approved under the Institute of the Conservation of Tropical Environments Accord de Siege with the Madagascar Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2003 SBU Fall Semester Abroad hosted at CVB; continued every year 2003-2018
2006 University of Finland RESPECT study abroad hosted at CVB
2007 Ranomafana National Park, part of a rainforest network of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 2007-2010 National Science Foundation-BCS grant Losing the edge: Senescence schedules and longevity in Malagasy rainforest primates
2010 Initiative to broaden health science and outreach in Ranomafana region
2010 First SBU Summer Study Abroad program held and continued every summer
2010-2017 Tropical Ecological Assessment and Monitoring in Ranomafana National Park Conservation International grant
2012 Opening of NamanaBe Hall with reception, conference room (seats 100), dormitories (48 beds), molecular and infectious disease laboratories, audio- visual office, computer room/library, and balconies
2013 CVB hosted the International Prosimian Congress. (150+ participants)
2013-2017 Participatory Ecological Monitoring Conservation International grant
2014-Present Interface of Wildlife and Human Disease Project, funded by Herrnstein Family Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Marcus Foundation, Woodruff Foundation
2014 Creation of PIVOT, a US health NGO focused on health system strengthening in the region of Ifanadiana; CVB is partners with PIVOT
2015 Inauguration of Radio Studio in NamanaBe Hall and creation of Environmental Arts program
2016 Renovation of stainless steel kitchen and expansion of dining hall in LovaBe Hall
2016 Beginning of participatory science programs in remote 4th grade schools - My Rainforest, My World project, funded by the Three Graces Foundation
2016-Present Inauguration of SBU Winter Session Experiential Learning Internships
2016 Hosted the International Reptile and Amphibian Congress
2016-2019 GHI-SBU Drone Observed Therapy System, a medical delivery drone program, used to treat Tuberculosis in remote communities
2016-2019 Partnership with Catholic Relief Services for Reforestation with endemic trees east of RNP and vanilla and wild pepper underneath the trees
2017 SBU remote health team doubled and expanded to more villages
2017-2020 Launching of Belocal Group, a sustainable engineering  NGO bringing together engineers, designers, and creatives to work with local stakeholders in crowdsourcing solutions to challenges faced in resource restricted environments
2018 Hosted International Lepidopteran Congress
2018 Hosted the Crucible, a science forum for innovation in health, genetics, infectious disease, and environmental science
2020 Completion of SOS IUCN Biodiversity Center