Regional representative for Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands
Based in Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Québec. Vololoniaina is a member of a Fokonolona (a local community) in her birthplace in Madagascar. Deeply committed to promoting the recognition of the heritage of the commons and the recognition of the autonomy of traditional local communities (Fokonolona) in their territories, she has been a catalyst in the development of their national movement thanks to her strategic vision and outstanding technical skills. As a result of her successive responsibilities over several decades in national and international institutions in Madagascar and West Africa, she has enthusiastically led several technical and financial partners to put local communities at the heart of their actions and funding, so that the communities can in turn take charge and lead their peers in the movement for environmental conservation, sustainable living, and the governance of territories of life. Vololona is currently a member of the Environment, Development and Society Institute in Quebec. There, she is working with local communities on the lessons learned from the comparison of 25 years of autonomous community actions and those related to international cooperation. With renewed energy, after having been a member of the Executive Committee for three years and a member of the Global Council since 2016, she is committed to contributing to the strategic and operational direction of the coordination team of the new Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands region in her third and final term on the Global Council of the ICCA – territories of life Consortium.
