Ten years of lemur conservation: Symposium organised by Dr. Megan Aylward

The International Primatology Conference (IPS) 2025 took place late July in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Where primate researchers and conservationists from around the world gathered to discuss and present on topics in Primatology.

As part of this conference Dr Megan Aylward, in collaboration with Laure Montchamp (IUCN SOS Lemurs), and Rio Heriniaina (University of Antsiranana) held a symposium and panel discussion to reflect on the Lemur Conservation Strategy and SOS Lemurs conservation projects. The lemur conservation strategy (Schwitzer et al. 2013) provided an action plan for lemur conservation and was used to secure funding to support these activities. Between 2018-2023 the IUCN led the SOS Lemurs initiative, providing large grants to support 49 different lemur conservation projects which aligned with the objectives of the action plan. As this initiative is entering into a second phase, now is a great time to evaluate the outcomes from these projects to help us learn and develop lemur conservation strategies.

In the symposium “Reflecting on ten years of lemur conservation action”, presenters from seven Madagascar-based conservation organisations discussed their SOS Lemurs projects including achievements, outcomes, and challenges faced during their projects; providing excellent insight into the realities of implementing on the ground conservation. We heard some fantastic talks covering topics on forest restoration, holistic approaches to conservation, community involvement, and the importance of youth in conservation initiatives. These talks sparked some valuable discussion from the conservation community. We concluded with a panel discussion with experts from the IUCN primate specialist group who discussed progress in conservation strategies and answered questions from the audience.

During the conference Megan and Rio took advantage of having so many conservation practitioners in one place and conducted interviews with members of these organisations. We chatted about their projects and conservation in Madagascar more broadly to gain a deeper understanding of how these conservation activities and outputs translate into medium to long term impact.