• Alison Jolly Scholarship Fund


      The fund       was established in 2014, in memory of the late Dr Alison Jolly (1937-2014), inspirational primatologist, conservation campaigner and a great friend and supporter of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Alison Jolly was the first person to undertake systematic field studies of lemur behaviour, showing among many other things that female dominance exists in lemurs.

      The fund was established with generous support from the Jolly Family and additional private individuals. The original intention was to provide a scholarship for one student per year from Madagascar to undergo fully-funded training in endangered species recovery. Due to the funding raised, we were actually able to offer two scholarships each year, beginning in 2015.

      Between 2015-2017, scholarships were awarded to Malagasy participants taking the Durrell Endangered Species Recovery PGDip course, based in Mauritius. Since 2019, scholarships are for Malagasy participants taking the Durrell Endangered Species Management graduate certificate (DESMAN) course held in Jersey, at Durrell Conservation Academy HQ.

      From 2020, scholarship recipients also receive a fully funded place on Durrell's bespoke, 18-month Professional Development Programme. Participants initially attend the DESMAN course, to gain a thorough background in species conservation, and then commence a series of additional online training courses, skills development training, mentoring and career support - each set customised to their individual needs.

      If you are from Madagascar and are passionate about contributing to the conservation of Madagascar's unique and irreplaceable biodiversity, and feel that our training could help you, then please consider applying for a scholarship.

      We are extremely grateful to the Jolly Family for their generous ongoing support in funding these scholarships, which are also supported through the royalties from Alison's inspirational book 'Thank You, Madagascar'.



      APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW FOR 2025 SCHOLARSHIPS

      Two scholarships are available each year for Malagasy conservationists. See here for further details of the DESMAN course. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please email your DESMAN application to academy@durrell.org stating your interest in the fund.


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      Watch the two 2020 Scholarship recipients discussing their experiences       

        

               

       Watch the two 2023 Scholarship recipients discussing their experiences       

    • PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS OF ALISON JOLLY MADAGASCAR SCHOLARSHIPS




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      Germain Fanomezantsoa RAZAFINDRAKOTO

      2015 Postgraduate Diploma

      Germain has experience in conservation consultancy work in potential protected area management sites; he has run a doctoral study of chameleon species, and trained in zoo management at Tsimbazaza Botanical and Zoological Parc. During the PGDip, his pilot project studied the habitat preferences of an endemic species of lizard on the offshore islands of Mauritius. He now works at the Parc as Curator and Researcher; and has carried out the research – applying directly what he learnt in animal husbandry and captive breeding techniques to save species from extinction.




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      Saotra Solonirina RAKOTONOMENJANAHARY

      2015 Postgraduate Diploma 

      Saotra is a biology and geology teacher, but his ambition was to become a professional conservationist at home in Madagascar. During the PGDip, he conducted a study on the role of educational games in engaging young audiences in a conservation message. He still teaches, but has managed to get involved in conservation projects, and joined Alison Jolly’s environmental project ‘Project Ako’ as a technical adviser, delivering a wide range of environmental education training activities throughout Madagascar. 




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      Rio Ridish HERINIAINA

      2016 Postgraduate Diploma 

      Rio has a degree in Natural Sciences, and in Forestry, Environment and Development. He has been involved in lemur research for several years, including the critically endangered white-collared lemur Eulemur cinereiceps in Manombo. The scholarship has helped him realise his goal of pursuing a career in species conservation and habitat protection. His PGDip pilot project was on spatial orientation in lemurs. Rio now works with the NGO Fanamby, where he is in charge of monitoring, evaluation and learning of all activities related to conservation and development in five new protected areas in Madagascar. 



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      Anja Navalona RATIANARIVO

      2016 Postgraduate Diploma

      Anja has a Masters in Animal Biology, she spent three months on Ile Sainte-Marie, studying the impact of whale watching on their behaviour, and giving presentations on whale biology and conservation to tourists. She had also researched bats in Ranomafana National Park. Since taking the PGDip, Anja has been working as a scientific researcher in Mahamavo, north western Madagascar, carrying out wetland bird surveying in mangrove habitat. She has also been involved in setting up an association called CAP Mada (Conservation Action Plan for Madagascar) working on a community development and mangrove reforestation project at the same site.




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      Irina Nantenaina RAKOTOMALALA

      2017 Postgraduate Diploma

      Irina has a Master’s degree in Entomology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Sterile Insect Technique for fruit fly management. Whilst working as a part time lecturer in a private University one of her particular interests was the wasp Polistes hebraeus.  Her PGDip, pilot project was on “Outreach and public engagement in insect conservation: conserving Mauritian endemic butterflies”. Irina is now Project Coordinator of an edible insect project at Madagascar Biodiversity Centre in partnership with California Academy of Sciences.



       

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      Miharifetra Ando RAVELOMANANTSOA

      2017 Postgraduate Diploma

      Miharifetra is a veterinarian and researcher specialising in the control of animal diseases. He has worked for the NGO ‘Madagascar Health and Environmental Research’ (MAHERY) improving the health of village chickens in six communities inside Makira Natural Park and Masoala National Park. ‘Seasonal variation in infection with the haematozoan parasite Leucocytozoon marchouxi in the Pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) in Mauritius’ was his PGDip, pilot project. He now coordinates a project to reduce issues of bushmeat in the National Parks of Makira and Betampona. By providing appropriate food as an alternative, villagers living inside National Parks might reduce illegal hunting in the protected forest.




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      Hasina Liantsoa RAKOTOMALALA

      2019 DESMAN Graduate Certificate

      Lilly has experience as a teaching assistant for the Department of Entomology at the University of Antananarivo, she also leads a small NGO called ‘Association Regrouping Entomologists of Madagascar’ (ARGEMA). Her DESMAN project proposal was on the establishment of a conservation ecotourism butterfly and moth garden in the Ambohidray Protected Area. As a member of the NGO ‘Greener Madagascar’, she has been able to pass on the skills she has learnt to increase capacity particularly in community engagement; she hopes to gain a full time paid position in conservation soon.





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      Tahina Harijaona RAJAOBELISON

      2019 DESMAN Graduate Certificate

      Tahina has a Master’s Degree in Geography,and has volunteered on several conservation projects in Madagascar, including WWF International within the program EXPLORE. He has also been the Landscape Manager of Loky-Manambato with the NGO ‘Fanamby’. His DESMAN project proposal was on ‘Raising awareness, and conservation education in order to protect Propithecus candidus, Silky Sifaka, Makira National Park’. Tahina secured a job with the NGO ‘Blue Ventures’ as Regional Coordinator of monitoring and evaluation for the mid-west region. He hopes to undertake a PhD Project monitoring and evaluating the impact of livelihood empowerment and how it promotes biodiversity conservation. 




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      Lovasoa Sylviane RAKOTOZAFY

      2020 Professional Development Programme

      Lovasoa has been involved in research and conservation projects on different species as research assistant or project leader. She has already completed a ZSL EDGE fellowship focusing on the conservation of two critically endangered frogs in Madagascar. Lovasoa found the training in facilitation and communication, management and leadership, conservation education, and conservation planning and priority setting to be the most useful parts of the DESMAN course. Lovasoa wrote her project proposal on the assessment of Phelsuma pronki. She is particularly looking forward to the Professional Development Programme helping her to attain her goal of becoming a conservation project manager. 





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      Andriatahina Henri RAKOTOSALAMA

      2020 Professional Development Programme

      Henri has coordinated Durrell’s Baly Bay project, focusing on the ploughshare tortoise, since 2015. He started in the field in 2006 as a student monitoring released ploughshare tortoises in Baly Bay National Park. Coordinating the project includes dealing with the many challenges such as poaching, mining plan and low level of local income. Henri feels that by completing the Professional Development Programme, he will fill all his skills gaps and be better able to reach his objectives in relation to the protection of the biodiversity in his country.




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      Hoby Ambinintsoa RASOANAIVO

      2022 Professional Development Programme

      Hoby is Research Coordinator for Lemur Love, a small NGO conducting research, conservation, and small-scale development in Madagascar, focused around Tsimanampesotse National Park. She oversees administrative processes, field expeditions (including training students and rangers), data collection and management, and community projects. As a wildlife veterinarian, she is keen to participate in the Professional Development Programme to gain conservation and management skills. Specifically, she wants to enhance her competences in developing research projects, leadership, facilitating workshops, and funding projects.




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      Dina ANDRIANOELY

      2022 Professional Development Programme

      Dina is Biodiversity and GIS Officer at Centre ValBio, Ranomafana National Park. He is involved in planning, budgeting, and leading the teams in the field, in addition to the creation of reports and collation of scientific data. These teams are involved in the monitoring of a wide range of biological data. In addition, he manages the GIS work, generating maps for various departments and external researchers. Through the Professional Development Programme, he is particularly keen to learn more about biodiversity, drivers of species decline, small population biology and genetics, as well as developing his skills in project planning, management and leadership. 




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      Sandy RASOANINDRIANA

      2023 Professional Development Programme

      Sandy is Community Project Facilitator for the community network Tafo Mihaavo in the Alaotra Mangoro region. Previously a field botanist, she now works on community projects that preserve Ramsar sites - home to many of Madagascar’s endemic species. In the short-term future, she will be assigned as a database manager for both animal and plant species for one of those sites. Her long-term career plan is to lead and manage a conservation site to contribute to the preservation of Madagascar’s threatened endemic species. Sandy feels that the Professional Development Programme will greatly help her by providing a wide range of knowledge and skills in species conservation project planning and management.



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      Toky RAKOTOARINIVO

      2023 Professional Development Programme

      Toky is Conservation Site Officer for IMPACT Madagascar. He has worked in conservation for ten years, managing conservation activities for species like crowned sifaka, greater bamboo lemur and red ruffed lemur. His work includes helping to strengthen the conservation status of the sites where his organisation works by moving towards the establishment of new protected areas. Toky is particularly keen to improve his skills in species and habitat management as well as in monitoring and evaluation, through his participation of the Professional Development Programme.



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      Andrée NAMBININA

      2023 Professional Development Programme

      Nambinina has worked with Turtle Survival Alliance as a consultant to identify the  preliminary  site  assessment for  Radiated  Tortoise re-introduction, in Southwest Madagascar. Now, she is working as a Postdoc at Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP) and I have several tasks including managing the MBP site in Lavavolo (one of the remaining strongholds for Radiated Tortoise), fundraising, writing a grant proposal about research and conservation of the species, and mentor of MBP students. As an early career person in conservation, she hopes that the Professional Development Programme will help her develop her skills to be more competent in her work.



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      Onja RABEONY

      2023 Professional Development Programme

      Onja is the Technical Manager and Project Manager within WWF, her main experiences are in the development and management of projects while maintaining a better relational quality and a good sense of leadership allowing her to work effectively with the whole team. Her daily activities include, among others: effective management of the COMATSA protected area, monitoring and surveillance activities of the protected area, ecological monitoring of conservation targets, restoration activities, information and awareness campaigns environmental. She hoped this programme will allow her to improve in my field and to excel in carrying out my daily activities. In addition, the exchanges with the other participants are always interesting, facilitating the understanding of conservation situations in other countries.



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      Yverlin PRUVOT

      2023 Professional Development Programme

      Pruvot has works for The Peregrine Fund Madagascar since 2105, he is now the Technical Manager of Madrozo Protected Area is the Technical Manager and Researcher and Conservation Biologist since 2015.  His research is used to develop strategies and action plans for the conservation of different studied species and publishing of scientific articles, in addition to numerous technical reports. As Technical Manager he is responsible for putting ahead the community-based natural resource management system and coordinating activities for the conservation and management of biodiversity and natural resources of the Protected Area. Through this Professional Development Programme he is eager to develop advanced methods, approaches and tools of conservation biology that are highly valuable both for scientific and management purposes.




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      Narindra RANAIVOSON

       2024 Professional Development programme

       Narindra is a Project Manager for the Science and Knowledge department at Conservation International Madagascar.  With a Masters degree in         Ecological Economics, and a passion for nature, Narindra is thriving as she currently manages a project entitled ''Government and communities     share learning on Nature-based Solutions for biodiversity, climate and sustainable development", which is being implemented in the 7 Bays Marine Corridor marine protected area. She is continuously working and studying to build a career focused on conservation and sustainability, and hopes that through completing the Professional Development Programme, she will enhance her technical knowledge on conservation, the theories and principles underpinning it, and the practical aspects in its implementation. ultimately helping her help become a more effective and knowledgeable project manager and professional in the filed of conservation. 


      Laurent R

      Laurent RAVELOSON

       2024 Professional Development programme

      Laurent has wealth of of experience working to protect and restore Madagascar's precious biodiversity, including involvement in projects run by Biodiversity Conservation in Madagascar, has spent seven year focusing on conserving birds of prey with the Peregrine Fund Madagascar, and now hold a position as the Data and Research Manager for Health in Harmony, Madagascar. supporting 31 communities around the Manombo Special Reserve, in south-eastern Madagascar. Striving to protect the of forest's endemic species of Manombo and prevent further habitat loss is challenging, but he enjoys teaching and mentoring Malagasy students at university to ensure a legacy of skills and passion is established. Laurent is keen to develop his skills beyond the field of research, and hopes that Durrell's training will improve his fundraising and leadership and his ability to write successful grant proposals. The opportunity to exchange with biodiversity conservation professionals from other countries will allow Laurent to gain more experience and knowledge to ensure his work continue to have a great conservation impact.