Max Andonirina Fontaine, 29, is Madagascar’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development. Before his appointment, he founded Bôndy, a social enterprise dedicated to reforestation and sustainable development, leading projects to plant millions of trees and support rural livelihoods.
He studied international affairs and applied economics in Canada for five years and returned to Madagascar in 2018 with the vision of making the island a model of green development. Fontaine has represented Madagascar at major global forums, including Youth4Climate in Italy and the USA, UN and World Bank summits, and was invited to address the Andalusian Parliament in Spain.
As a reformist minister, he secured Madagascar’s access to the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and launched innovative financing tools such as carbon market reforms, lemur bonds, and biodiversity credits.
At CBD COP16 in Colombia, he was appointed Facilitation Champion, and at the World Government Summit in Dubai, he became President of the Global Council for SDG 15 (Life on Land), underlining his leadership in biodiversity protection.
Speaking at
Oct 11 2025 (09:00 - 10:30)
Oct 11 2025 (15:00 - 16:00)
Oct 12 2025 (14:00 - 15:30)
Oct 12 2025 (19:00 - 21:00)