Andavadoaka Explained

Official Name:Andavadoaka
Other Name:Andavadoake
Pushpin Map:Madagascar
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Madagascar
Pushpin Mapsize:180
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Atsimo-Andrefana
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Morombe
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Befandefa
Population As Of:2018
Population Footnotes:Census
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Population Blank1:Vezo
Population Blank2 Title:Religions
Timezone:EAT
Utc Offset:3
Coordinates:-22.0667°N 57°W
Elevation M:7
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:618

Andavadoaka is a small fishing village located on the southwest coast of Madagascar. It is located in the Morombe (district), 45 km south of the town of Morombe in the region of Atsimo-Andrefana. It belongs to the rural municipality of Befandefa.

The village lies on the edge of a shallow lagoon protected from the open ocean by a series of fringing and submerged barrier reefs that support substantial coral growth, providing a vital resource base for a local artisanal fishery. Owing to the remoteness and isolation, these coral reefs are thought to possess a significantly higher abundance and diversity of species than other reefs in southwest Madagascar.

It is an old settlement, potteries & bones of Aepyornis were found in large quantities in the dunes of Andabotibe, 4 km north in 1970.[1] Andavadoaka is one of the founding villages of a locally managed marine area. The village won the Equator Prize,[2] awarded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in 2007.

Near Andavodoaka, Biodiversity studies have identified many hundreds of marine species in the waters in the area. The reefs around Andavadoaka represent some of the most well-developed coral reef systems in the Indian Ocean.

Population

Andavadoaka is inhabited by the Vezo fishing people.

Electricity

Andavadoaka is one of the few small villages in the South-West of Madagascar with general access to electricity. It is fed by about 65 kWp of solar panels and backed by a battery bank.

An airport serves the village.

Notes and References

  1. https://books.openedition.org/pub/485 PETITE ENCYCLOPÉDIE DU GRAND SUD DE MADAGASCAR | Jean-Michel Lebigre
  2. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. "Village of Andavadoaka, Madagascar: Marine Reserves for Octopus." Chapter in "Innovation for Sustainable Development: Local Case Studies from Africa."https://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/publications/africa_casestudies/andavadoaka.pdf