Hawksbill Turtle

Nosy Tanihely is a Marine Park. It is part of the marine ecoregion of the North Mozambique Channel. The high degree of marine biodiversity in this ecoregion is explained by the important connectivity caused by the mixing of circulation currents, including the Comoros gyre. Moreover, the configuration of the coasts and the continental submarine relief contributes to a diversity of habitats generating diversity. Thus, there are mangroves, varied coral formations, sea grass beds and most of the country’s islets. The coral wealth of the northwest of Madagascar, which includes the Marine National Park of Nosy Tanihely, is the highest in the Western Indian Ocean. This area is also very important for the nesting and feeding of marine turtles. Northern Madagascar has furthermore been identified as a global priority site for a new UNESCO World Heritage designation (Obura et al, 2012) and Nosy Tanihely Park is currently listed as a serial natural marine property on the national Tentative List.
The tripartite co-management framework and the attempt to establish a sustainable financing mechanism at the Park level are exceptional models for protected areas in Madagascar. It also intends to demonstrate this by integrating the IUCN green list process; Nosy Tanihely National Park being among the 15 pilot candidate sites in Madagascar.