WeForest - Madagascar Chameleon Habitat Conservation

NHenn

Avid Member
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Madagascar is facing major environmental problems such as deforestation, habitat destruction, agriculture fires, erosion and soil degradation. An effort must be made in order to help reforest Madagascar and prevent the loss of its amazing biodiversity and unique ecosystems. Being home to about half of the world’s 160 or so species of chameleons, Madagascar is one of the most important countries to all chameleon enthusiasts.

Unfortunately, Madagascar is among the world's poorest countries. As such, the Malagasy people’s survival is dependent upon natural resource use. Most must live off the land that surrounds them, making use of whatever resources they can find. Their poverty costs the country and the world through the loss of the island's endemic biodiversity.

Our love for chameleons has no boundaries and to do our part, we would like to introduce to the chameleon community an amazing non-profit association called WeForest. They recognize that some of today’s biggest challenges are global warming and poverty. WeForest has a very simple solution for both. We restore our natural resources while providing social justice. Planting bio-diverse forests in the poorest countries cools our climate and provides jobs for men and women which enables them to feed and educate their children.
WeForest currently has project sites all across the world but there are two special sites that stand out to us as they are in the heart of Madagascar. One on the north eastern coast in the village of Ampohibe and a second on the central western coast in the village of Kalamboro.

The Canvas Chameleons team is so pleased to have arranged with WeForest that all funds donated on our behalf are allocated directly towards these two project sites in Madagascar. Every dollar donated through the Canvas Chameleons website will plant two trees directly in Madagascar. All general donations made directly through the WeForest website will be divided among all the project sites and will plant trees all over the world.

We strive to give all chameleons the best homes as possible which includes all the wild chameleons of Madagascar.

Please Help Us Help Madagascar!

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For more information and to make a donation please visit the following links! Thanks again to the whole chameleon community for all your continued help and support!

Canvas Chameleons WeForest Donation

General WeForest Donation
 
I just wanted to share, how great of a community this is that we can come together and help these majestic animals. I'm glad to be a part of helping out, and Nick and the gang are great. I can't give him enough props for what he is doing and how much he has contributed to this community.

Thanks nick
Scott
 
Nick, Kyle and Amanda are stand up people so its no surprise that they would join in on such a needed charity! If they are willing to put the effort into making sure donations get there the least we can do is send them the donations.

This is one country where even just a couple of dollars goes a long way. WeForest is doing more then just providing tree's to be replanted. They put the local people back in charge of their land. People are getting paid to restore land that is no longer used for farming or grazing.

The project around Ampohibe is especially important since the forest here could possibly extend the range of species like parsonii. This area is close to the Masoala area which is one of the most biologically rich and diverse area's left on the island. Think of how great it would be to actually provide a forest for the extension of species.

Carl
 
I have been preaching that Madagascar requires more programs such as these for years through out the island. Some pluses these kinds of programs could bring to Madagascar is improve existing agriculture practices, forest abandoned agriculture land, make new forests out of forest fragments, make new forest corridors connecting existing preserves and providing many jobs for the Malagasy. Thanks for posting about WeForest the Non Profit my internship is with I have had some conversations with other staff about starting a program or two with locations in Madagascar.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
As said above.. The Canvas Chameleon team is wonderful...not only because their love and dedication to chameleons just shines.. but even more so that they have brought
WeForest to my attention and for that personally, I can't thank them enough.

I am so happy to be able to help and be apart of WeForest and the efforts made to help Madagascar and I will continue to. Every dollar helps and goes a long way.

Please take some time to look at their site! Here are a couple of really good short videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh8RpgtW4s0#t=122
http://vimeo.com/53510702 :) Thank you again Nick!
 
Such a great program and the Canvas Chameleon folks are just awesome for supporting WeForest. I've been friends with Nick since he first joined the forums and I must say he truly cares about the animals and the products he endorses. The way that they all jumped in to help Carl when he was hit by that terrible storm shows you just what kind of people they are. It's people like Nick, Amanda and Kyle that keep me here on the forums. I hope to someday get to meet them in person. :)
 
It really is awesome to see you guys making such an effort to give back and make a difference in Madagascar where these animals we all love come from. I wish more breeders would make such an effort. Great job you guys!

Chris
 
From what I've seen WeForest looks like a great conservation program and I love that you've organized a way to donate only to the Madagascar projects.
 
Thank You!

I just wanted to share, how great of a community this is that we can come together and help these majestic animals. I'm glad to be a part of helping out, and Nick and the gang are great. I can't give him enough props for what he is doing and how much he has contributed to this community.

Thanks nick
Scott

Scott, thank you so much for all your support! We really appreciate all your help and offering to donate to WeForest for every chameleon you sell is absolutely amazing


Nick, Kyle and Amanda are stand up people so its no surprise that they would join in on such a needed charity! If they are willing to put the effort into making sure donations get there the least we can do is send them the donations.

This is one country where even just a couple of dollars goes a long way. WeForest is doing more then just providing tree's to be replanted. They put the local people back in charge of their land. People are getting paid to restore land that is no longer used for farming or grazing.

The project around Ampohibe is especially important since the forest here could possibly extend the range of species like parsonii. This area is close to the Masoala area which is one of the most biologically rich and diverse area's left on the island. Think of how great it would be to actually provide a forest for the extension of species.

Carl

Carl, thank you so much for everything! Your knowledge of Madagascar is like no other and having your support to help reforest these amazing projects sites is wonderful.

I have been preaching that Madagascar requires more programs such as these for years through out the island. Some pluses these kinds of programs could bring to Madagascar is improve existing agriculture practices, forest abandoned agriculture land, make new forests out of forest fragments, make new forest corridors connecting existing preserves and providing many jobs for the Malagasy. Thanks for posting about WeForest the Non Profit my internship is with I have had some conversations with other staff about starting a program or two with locations in Madagascar.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

Thank you Jeremy! I hope you are able to start some more projects with your internship in Madagascar, that would be amazing!

Thank you so much for sharing!

Olimpia, thank you so much for sharing on your blog! I remember reading your blog and thinking how amazing it was and how helpful it is when I came across it for the first time. It is an honor to be able to contribute with such a great program and cause.

As said above.. The Canvas Chameleon team is wonderful...not only because their love and dedication to chameleons just shines.. but even more so that they have brought
WeForest to my attention and for that personally, I can't thank them enough.

I am so happy to be able to help and be apart of WeForest and the efforts made to help Madagascar and I will continue to. Every dollar helps and goes a long way.

Please take some time to look at their site! Here are a couple of really good short videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh8RpgtW4s0#t=122
http://vimeo.com/53510702 :) Thank you again Nick!

Lauren, thank you so much for all the kind words, they mean the world to us! Thanks for sharing the videos as well. Here is another one that shows the amazing changes in Kalamboro thanks to WeForest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sshI52ik3aw&feature=c4-overview&list=UUABWjbCCNxau4HRL7vNaKpw

Such a great program and the Canvas Chameleon folks are just awesome for supporting WeForest. I've been friends with Nick since he first joined the forums and I must say he truly cares about the animals and the products he endorses. The way that they all jumped in to help Carl when he was hit by that terrible storm shows you just what kind of people they are. It's people like Nick, Amanda and Kyle that keep me here on the forums. I hope to someday get to meet them in person. :)

Jann, your words of encouragement and support mean so much to us! Thank you for everything you have done, not only for all you have helped us with but for your true love of whole entire community. Without you the forums would never be the same!

I'm sure that we will meet in person one day, that is a guarantee!

It really is awesome to see you guys making such an effort to give back and make a difference in Madagascar where these animals we all love come from. I wish more breeders would make such an effort. Great job you guys!

Chris

Thank you Chris! You do so much for the chameleon community and it is truly and honor to have your help and support.

From what I've seen WeForest looks like a great conservation program and I love that you've organized a way to donate only to the Madagascar projects.

Brad, without you none of this could be possible! Thank you so much for allowing us to help spread the word about WeForest. It means the world to use to be able to give back to the animals that bring us so much joy in our lives!
 
And to everyone else, from the bottom of our hearts thank you so much for all the love and support! We are well on our way to meeting our goal of $1,000 donated this year!!!! Every dollar makes a world of a difference as it will plant two trees in Madagascar. Just imagine if all off the 34,000+ members would donate just $1 each what we could do as a community to help Madagascar and save all of its beauty...
 
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It's great being able to donate right from your site - and so easy -
I also checked out their site enough to read up on the program they have going in Ethiopia - Since I spent 4 years back in the 70's their (where I had my first Chumley) it's one of my interest also. They are doing great work and so are you guys bringing it to our attention.
 
Thanks to everyone that is continuing to help us spread the word!

If you are not familiar with WeForest please take a minute and check out what they are doing to help not only Madagascar but the whole world.

Thanks again for all the support and generosity.
 
Such a great idea and very generous for a business to contribute to a project like this! Thank you for spreading the word and hopefully many people take advantage of this opportunity to try to help an area that could really use it and can benefit wild populations of chameleons and other unique species found only in Madagascar! Great job Canvas Chameleons!
 
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

I wanted to share some information I read today that really hits the heart of why conservation efforts like WeForest are so important to the island of Madagascar and all of its chameleons.

“The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species TM is the international standard for assessing the extent to which species are facing extinction. Of the 103 chameleon species assessed for the IUCN Red List, 76 are native and endemic to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar. The IUCN Red List categorizes extant species into six categories of descending threat status from Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, and Least Concern. Four chameleon species are classed as Critically Endangered, all of which are endemic to Madagascar, making them, to our knowledge, currently the most threatened chameleons in the world. These species typically occur over a very small geographic range and are in decline because of active threats that are reducing the size and suitability of the remaining habitats. Two of the species (Calumma tarzan and Calumma hafahafa) inhabit humid forest in the east of Madagascar, while the others occur in drier areas in the west (Brookesia bonsi) and southwest (Furcifer belalandaensis). When such species are range-restricted and the rate of decline is rapid, the effects are compounded, leaving a distinct chance of extinction in the wild.”

Tolley, Krystal, and Anthony Herrel. "Chameleon Conservation." The Biology of Chameleons. Berkeley and Los Angeles: U of California, 2014. 193-94. Print.

It only takes a few seconds to donate and every dollar really goes a long way! We are currently 30% towards or goal for this year. We are also planning some special events in the near future to help us reach that goal. Please follow us on Facebook to not miss out on future t-shirt sales, donation matching events, and even chameleon auctions where all the proceeds will go directly to WeForest.
 
We are a little behind on our goal for this year for WeForest. Any donation is greatly appreciated by us and all the wild chameleons of Madagascar!

Please help us help Madagascar!
 
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