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MADAGASCAR

Madagascar Forest Figures

Forest Cover

Total forest area: 12,838,000 ha
% of land area: 22.1%

Primary forest cover: 10,347,000 ha
% of land area: 17.8%
% total forest area: 80.6%

Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005

Annual change in forest cover: -37,000 ha
Annual deforestation rate: -0.3%
Change in defor. rate since '90s: -41.9%
Total forest loss since 1990: -854,000 ha
Total forest loss since 1990:-6.2%

Primary or "Old-growth" forests
Annual loss of primary forests: -6800 ha
Annual deforestation rate: -0.1%
Change in deforestation rate since '90s: -43.6%
Primary forest loss since 1990: -34,000 ha
Primary forest loss since 1990:-1.5%

Forest Classification

Public: 98%
Private: 2%
Other: 0%
Use
Production: 26.3%
Protection: 1.4%
Conservation: 39.4%
Social services: n/a
Multiple purpose: 32.9%
None or unknown: n/a

Forest Area Breakdown

Total area: 12,838,000 ha
Primary: 10,347,000 ha
Modified natural: 2,198,000 ha
Semi-natural: n/a
Production plantation: 234,000 ha
Production plantation: 59,000 ha

Plantations

Plantations, 2005: 293,000 ha
% of total forest cover: 2.3%
Annual change rate (00-05): n/a

Carbon storage

Above-ground biomass: 4,778 M t
Below-ground biomass: 1,481 M t

Area annually affected by

Fire: 33,000 ha
Insects: n/a
Diseases: n/a

Number of tree species in IUCN red list

Number of native tree species: 5,000
Critically endangered: 34
Endangered: 65
Vulnerable: 63

Wood removal 2005

Industrial roundwood: 598,000 m³ o.b.
Wood fuel: 6,433,000 m³ o.b.

Value of forest products, 2005

Industrial roundwood: $66,976,000
Wood fuel: $8,363,000
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): n/a
Total Value: $75,339,000

More forest statistics for Madagascar

Madagascar, due to its isolation from the rest of the world, has tremendous biodiversity and high rates of endemic species: of more than 200,000 known species found on Madagascar, about 150,000 exist nowhere else. Unique to the island are some 70 kinds of lemurs [pictures], 223 out of 226 known species of frogs [pictures], and 33 species of tenrecs, miniature hedgehog-like animals. However, it is one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. More than 80 percent of the forests are gone—half of them since the late 1950s—along with a number of large, charismatic species.

Madagascar has suffered environmental degradation over a significant part of its land mass. Forests that once blanketed the eastern third of the island have now been degraded, fragmented, and converted to scrub land. Spiny forests in the south are rapidly giving way to "cactus scrub" as indigenous vegetation is cut and burned for subsistence charcoal production. Viewed from above, Madagascar's rivers look as if they are bleeding the country to death as soil is eroded from the central highlands. Each year as much as a third of the country burns and 1 percent of its remaining forests are leveled.

This ecological decline has not been ignored. Environmental regulations have been in place since Queen Ranavalona II first banned slash-and-burn agriculture in 1881. The French rulers passed their own edicts which aimed to protect wildlife and conserve forests. Nonetheless, these efforts met mixed results. On one hand there is still forest in Madagascar—forest that houses thousands of endemic species from lemurs to baobabs to Uroplatus geckos. On the other hand, the amount of forest today is less than at any time since Madagascar was first inhabited by humans less than 2,000 years ago.

At present, more dollars are pouring into conservation efforts in Madagascar than any other part of Africa. What can be done to ensure that this time around conservation will be a success in Madagascar?

Threats to Madagascar's biodiversity and ecosystems

Madagascar is among the world's poorest countries. As such, people's day to day survival is dependent upon natural resource use. Most Malagasy never have an option to become doctors, sports stars, factory workers, or secretaries; they 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.

Madagascar's major environmental problems include:

Deforestation and habitat destruction
Agricultural fires
Erosion and soil degradation
Overexploitation of living resources including hunting and over-collection of species from the wild
Introduction of alien species

Tavy or slash-and-burn agriculture

Tavy is the lifeblood of Malagasy culture and the Malagasy economy. Tavy is mostly used for converting tropical rainforests in Madagascar into rice fields. Typically an acre or two of forest is cut, burned, and then planted with rice. After a year or two of production the field is left fallow for 4-6 years before the process is repeated. After 2-3 such cycles the soil is exhausted of nutrients and the land is likely colonized by scrub vegetation or alien grasses. On slopes, the new vegetation is often insufficient to anchor soils, making erosion and landslides a problem.

Tavy is the most expedient way for many Malagasy to provide for their families, and for people where day-to-day subsistence is a question there is little concern for the long-term consequences of their actions. From their perspective, as long as there is more forest land freely available for clearing, you might as well use the land before a neighbor does. Tavy for rice also has spiritual and cultural ties that transcend the economic and nutritional value of rice as a crop.

Logging for timber

Logging for timber is especially a problem in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar, particularly on the Masoala peninsula. The high value for Malagasy hardwoods (mostly ebony and rosewood which may fetch $2,000 a ton in international markets) makes illegal logging a significant problem in some protected areas.

Fuelwood and charcoal production

The endemic spiny forests of Madagascar are being cut at an alarming rate for charcoal production. In eking out a living selling little piles of charcoal along roads in southwestern Madagascar, local people turn towards the nearest plant source which in this case is often Alluaudia trees.

AGRICULTURAL FIRES

Every year as much as a third of Madagascar burns. Fires set for land-clearing and pastureland spread into adjacent wildlands causing damage to the island's unique ecosystems.

EROSION

With its rivers running blood red and staining the surrounding Indian Ocean, astronauts have remarked that it looks as if Madagascar is bleeding to death. This insightful observation highlights one of Madagascar's greatest environmental problems—soil erosion. Deforestation of Madagascar's central highlands, plus weathering from natural geologic and soil conditions, has resulted in widespread soil erosion, which in some areas may top 400 tons/ha per year. For Madagascar, a country that relies on agricultural production for the foundation of its economy, the loss of this soil is especially costly. more >>

OVEREXPLOITATION OF LIVING RESOURCES

Madagascar's native species have been aggressively hunted and collected by people desperately seeking to provide for their families. While it has been illegal to kill or keep lemurs as pets since 1964, lemurs are hunted today in areas where they are not protected by local taboos (fady). Tenrecs and carnivores are also widely hunted as a source of protein.

Reptiles and amphibians are enthusiastically collected for the international pet trade. Chameleons, geckos, snakes, and tortoises are the most targeted.

The waters around Madagascar serve as a rich fishery and are an important source of income for villagers. Unfortunately, fishing is poorly regulated. Foreign fishing boats encroach on artisanal fishing areas leaving locals and the marine fauna with the short end of the stick. Sharks, sea cucumbers, and lobster may be harvested at increasingly unsustainable rates.

INTRODUCTION OF ALIEN SPECIES

The introduction of alien species has doomed many of Madagascar's endemic species. The best example of damage wrought by introduced species can be found in the island's rivers and lakes. Adaptable and aggressive tilapia, introduced as a food fish, have displaced the native cichlids.

There is really little use bemoaning past environmental degradation in Madagascar. Now the concern should be how to slow this ecological decline and how to best utilize lands already degraded so they can support productive activities today and for future generations. Without improving the well-being of the average Malagasy person, we cannot expect Madagascar's wildlands to persist as fully functional systems and continue to cater to the needs of people.

Making conservation work in Madagascar

Designating an area as a park does not mean local people will have their immediate needs satisfied. A park does not alleviate their hunger or satiate their requirements for shelter and other necessities. Conservation in Madagascar must address the needs of local people, and efforts must focus on poverty alleviation and economic development as well as protecting wildlife and ecosystems. Conservation cannot come at the expense of local people; local people must be made both partners and beneficiaries in conservation, and not enemies of it. In seeking a "solution" to the environmental problems of Madagascar—whether it be through agroforestry, extractive reserves, eco-tourism, or another strategy—the ultimate fate of its ecosystems rests in the hands of local people. While some would argue these wildlands can be "saved" by restricting economic growth, it is necessary to realize that parks and reserves will not persist, let alone be successful, unless local communities are persuaded that it is in their material interest to conserve them.

Masoala—The Eye of the Forest A New Strategy for Rainforest Conservation in Madagascar, a book on conservation in the biologically rich rainforest of the Masoala Peninsula, reiterates these points:

"Everyone who lives on the Masoala peninsula lives directly from the use of natural resources. Almost no one at Masoala has the option, let alone the means, to become a lawyer, doctor, journalist, pilot, bus-driver, secretary, mechanic, or librarian, let alone aspire to a leisurely retirement. Average life expectancy in Madagascar is about 56 years. Everyone's survival strategy is therefore centered in one way or another around natural resource use. In such a context, if villagers find themselves with a little extra money in their pocket, the best investment they can possibly make is to plough the money back into clearing more land for rice or cash-crop production. As a result, while economic development and poverty alleviation are vital to help rural communities out of their dependence on survival strategies based exclusively on natural resource use, programs that aim simply to increase incomes often end up accelerating environmental degradation. Poverty reduction programs at sites like Masoala therefore need to be planned and implemented in coordination with natural resources managers to make sure that environmental factors are taken into consideration and that economic development is ecologically sustainable." Success in conserving wildlands in Madagascar will require reconciling the inevitable conflicts between short-term needs of local people and the long-term nature of the benefits that conservation can generate on sustainable ongoing basis. The following sections will look at specific ideas that may address some of the underlying and direct causes of environmental degradation in Madagascar.

AGRICULTURE

Subsistence agriculture is a way of life in Madagascar. Tavy may have evolved as the most efficient agricultural strategy for given environments in Madagascar but as currently practiced—with fallow periods too brief to allow sufficient regrowth of vegetation—it is not a viable cultivation technique. A better approach to addressing the needs of poor Malagasy farmers may be improving and intensifying existing agricultural projects and promoting alternative cultivation techniques—notably permaculture as "savoka" gardens.

Savoka gardens are planted on fallow tavy plots and are planned as "a carefully selected succession of trees and plants on the fallow land that re-enriches the soil while producing a steady stream of food crops and other useful products." For example the use of wild ginger (longoza) adds phosphorus to soils while leguminous plants can fix nitrogen that is lost with traditional rice cultivation. The addition of perennials—crops which continue to produce for a number of years like citrus, manioc, vanilla, banana, mango, pepper, cacao, coffee, and rubber—can help restore nutrients to degraded soils and allow them to remain productive for decades while generating a diversified income and/or diet. An added bonus of such agroforestry techniques is that they maintain forest systems, soils, and biological diversity at a far higher level than do conventional agricultural techniques. As long as such fields are adjacent to secondary and old-growth forest, many species will continue to thrive.

Unfortunately, success with such regimes has proved elusive thus far. Tavy and the devotion to rice is so ingrained as a cultural practice that it has been very difficult to interest Malagasy in alternative crops that might improve soil fertility and increase crop yields. Successful implementation of savoka gardens will probably hinge on integrating rice cultivation with these new techniques. Other important factors are improved access to markets and the creation of credit facilities for poor farmers to save their earnings and allow them to borrow in times of need. Micro-credit facilities can provide significant economic benefits to local people and the local economy.

OTHER SUSTAINABLE FOREST PRODUCTS

Improved forms of agriculture are one of several means that can provide tangible returns to rural Malagasy living in and around forests. Sustainable development through harvesting of the forests' renewable products has the potential for generating income for local people without destroying their resource base.

According to Masoala—The Eye of the Forest A New Strategy for Rainforest Conservation in Madagascar, omore than 290 plant species on the Masoala peninsula alone "are used by local people: as fuelwood, as wood for construction, for medicinal purposes, carving, and other purposes." Such forest products have a great deal of potential in both local and international markets. For example, two chemicals (vincristine and vinblastine) derived from the rosy periwinkle of southern Madagascar generated more than US$160 million per year in their heyday . Rainforest plants have already provided tangible evidence of their potential with remedies for all sorts of medical problems, from childhood leukemia to hangovers. Some 70 percent of the plants identified as having anti-cancer characteristics by the U.S. National Cancer Institute are found only in the tropical rainforest.

Vanilla has long been a lucrative, but eco-friendly crop for many farmers in northeastern Madagascar since it grows best under the shade of canopy trees. But, according to Masoala—The Eye of the Forest A New Strategy for Rainforest Conservation in Madagascar, "a new variety [of vanilla] introduced recently as part of an EU-funded economic support program is sun-tolerant" and therefore better suited as a plantation crop. The result is this new form may drive small producers out of business and contribute further to deforestation.

The key to making sustainable forests products an economic reality for local Malagasy is access to markets.

ECO-TOURISM

Eco-tourism may be the best hope for Madagascar to improve the standard of living for its people and indeed eco-tourism is growing in the country: according to the Bradt guide around 50 percent of visitors to Madagascar now visit a protected area when they come to the country (up from 20 percent in 1995). Responsibly managed eco-tourism can generate substantial amounts of revenue and employ large numbers of local people without causing significant environmental damage. And because eco-tourists pay to see a country's natural beauty it gives local people a direct incentive to conserve the environment around them. Eco-tourism can help assign value to an ecosystem and most eco-tourists are willing to pay directly for preservation in the form of park entrance fees and the hiring of local guides.

In Madagascar local communities benefit directly from eco-tourism through their 50 percent share of park entrance fees (such fees are divided equally between the national park service,ANGAP, and local communities), sales of handicrafts and "tourist items," and employment of porters, wildlife guides, park rangers, and workers in the service force of hotels, restaurants and lodges. The guide training system (ANGAP has a three-year program for new guides) helps the local community as a whole through the education of its members. With an education and an understanding of multiple languages, children in the community will have better opportunities in the future.

To be sustainable, eco-tourism requires careful planning and strict guidelines; short-term development can doom ecosystems and communities in the same way as unsustainable logging. Too many people, inadequate facilities, and poor park management can spell the end for the "eco" in eco-tourism. Eco-tourism, when carried out in a sustainable fashion, can be very beneficial to local people, the economy, and the environment. Eco-tourism should not be restricted to legally protected areas, but should also be promoted in natural areas that lack protection. The presence of tourists, when properly managed, can protect an area from certain over-exploitive activities.

INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY AND REHABILITATING DEGRADED HABITATS

In addressing environmental problems in Madagascar, it is important that decision makers not only be concerned with the transformation of existing natural ecosystems, but also with the more rational utilization of already cleared and degraded areas (for example the use of "savoka" gardens). To lessen future forest loss we must increase and sustain the productivity of farms, pastures, plantations, and scrub-land in addition to restoring species and ecosystems to degraded habitats. By reducing wasteful land-use practices, consolidating gains on existing cleared lands, and improving already developed lands, we can diminish the need to clear additional forest.

Research and experience have shown that the restoration of entire ecosystems is most possible in regions where parts or at least remnants of the original forest still remain and there are few human population pressures. Small clearings surrounded by forest recover quickly and large sections may recover in time, especially if some assistance in the reforestation process is provided. After several years, a once-barren field can again support vegetation in the form of pioneer species and secondary growth. Although the secondary forest will be low in diversity and poorly developed, the forest cover will be adequate for some species to return (assuming they still exist). In addition, the newly forested patch can be used for the sustainable harvest of forest products and low-intensity logging and agriculture.

ENFORCEMENT

Laws protecting the environment in Madagascar have been on the books since the 19th century but have had little effect. Effective conservation efforts will require the consistent enforcement of existing laws.

Corruption has long been associated with the violation of environmental statutes in Madagascar: pay a bribe to the right official and certain prohibited activities will be overlooked. This has all changed in the last couple of years with the push by President Ravalomanana to clean up business affairs and the legitimizing of ANGAP (Madagascar's national park service) by giving it the power to enforce the law.

A conservation plan for Madagascar

Expand protected areas

As many areas as possible should be protected in Madagascar. If protected areas can be developed in such a manner as to generate income for local communities, an increasing number of parks should theoretically create more economic benefits for a greater share of the population.

Increase surveillance of and patrols in protected areas.

This can be done at reduced cost if local communities benefit from the success of the park. If locals have a vested interest (i.e., are compensated via entrance fees, are hired as guides, make handicrafts to sell to tourists, and learn to value their ecosystem for the services it can provide), they will want to watch the park so that the source of their income is not diminished. Community surveillance is the most effective way to patrol a protected area, though it will probably be necessary to have park staff conduct patrols as well. Guides should be trained to keep watch for activities that are damaging to the ecosystem and report suspicious activities to park headquarters.

Build research facilities for training Malagasy scientists and guides

Madagascar needs to build its intellectual capital to grow its economy and make the best use of the country's resources. There need to be further studies on endemic species (many have just a name and a location, and new species are being discovered every year) for both pure research reasons and potential commercial applications. Improved crop yields and reduced erosion could also be possible with future research.

Establish programs that promote sustainable use

Programs that promote sustainable use are key to elevating the standard of living for people living around Madagascar's protected areas. Not all members of a community will see the direct benefits from employment in the service or production sector, and many people will still rely on traditional use of the natural resources around them. These resources must be used in a more effective manner to maximize productivity and minimize the impact on the environment.

Compensate displaced people

As more protected areas are set aside, it is inevitable that some people may be asked to move.It is important that these people are compensated for abandoning their existing livelihood and homes. While direct cash pay-outs are an option, a better strategy is to provide these displaced people with long-term income possibilities through training in better agricultural techniques or alternative crops.

Promote eco-tourism

Eco-tourism is perhaps the best hope for developing Madagascar's economy. Planners should seek to minimize the environmental impact and maximize the benefits for local communities.

Ensure economic success does not result in increased deforestation

As Malagasy begin to reap benefits from conservation-related activities, it is important that they not reinvest this income in activities that result in further deforestation. Traditionally, in many villages, the more money someone made, the more money was put back into land-clearing. Rural banks and savings institutions are virtually unknown in many parts of Madagascar. Such facilities, which would enable both saving and lending, could rapidly change the lives of millions of Malagasy through increased entrepreneurship and the ability to put away money for the future.

Encourage entrepreneurship

Encouraging entrepreneurship through such a microcredit strategy could pay significant dividends for the Malagasy economy as a whole. Studies in other developing countries have found that entrepreneurial skills among the poor are actually quite high when people are given access to capital. Default rates are typically quite low as well (do the poor have a greater respect for money?). Stimulating entrepreneurship through small low-cost loans is possibly a better approach than handouts, which may do little more than breed dependency and reduce human dignity.

Funding conservation in Madagascar

Conservation programs are not going to be cost-free. Madagascar already gets considerable aid from foreign donors—both NGOs and governmental development agencies—but funding these initiatives may require more creative sources of income to be truly successful. Handouts will not last forever and have the tendency to breed dependency. Here are some other funding strategies to consider:

Eco-tourism

Eco-tourism can fund efforts both through park entrance fees and employing locals as guides and in the service (hotels, restaurants, drivers, boat drivers, porters, cooks) and handicrafts sectors.

Bio-prospecting fees

Madagascar can earn revenue by allowing scientists to develop products from the island's native plant and animal species. The pioneer in the area was Costa Rica, which entered into an agreement with an American pharmaceutical company, Merck, to look for plants with potential pharmaceutical applications. Under the agreement, a portion of the proceeds from compounds that do prove commercially valuable will go to the Costa Rican government, which has guaranteed that some of the royalties will be set aside for conservation projects.

Similarly, in 2001, Givaudan, a Swiss fragrance and flavor company, sent a team to look for new exotic smells and flavors in Madagascar. Following their survey, Givaudan researchers "reconstituted" 40 aromas that could be used in commercial products. The company has agreed to share a portion of the profits from these products with local communities through conservation and development initiatives.

Sustainable pet trade

A second potential source of income for locals is the breeding and export of Malagasy plants and animals, notably reptiles and amphibians. Right now the export of reptiles and amphibians is poorly managed and leads directly to over-exploitation and probable extinction of some species. Many reptiles are illegally collected from reserves where they are becoming quite rare. Authorities know about the collectors, but corruption is rampant, and laws go unenforced. A 1990s survey found that locals were paid about US$0.01 for each gecko captured, while the exporter sold the animal for US$9-13 to U.S./European importers, where it retails for US$75. This system cannot be sustainable if villagers must catch 110 geckos to earn US$1: overharvesting is imminent. Instead, the implementation of breeding programs and/or farms for the exotic pet trade could employ Malagasy while satisfying market demand in a sustainable manner. The exportation of Malagasy reptiles and amphibians alone is estimated to have an economic potential of more than $US 1 million annually, or about equivalent to the foreign currency generated by clearing 39,500 acres (16,000 ha).

Carbon credits

For setting aside forest for the purpose of atmospheric carbon mitigation, developing countries like Madagascar can receive payments from industrialized countries looking to offset their carbon emissions. Carbon offset programs are popular in many circles since they can "provide a mechanism for motivating wealthy countries to pay for a benefit of forest conservation that transcends national borders." In effect, such programs promote "the transfer of funds from industrialized countries to tropical countries as a commercial transaction rather than an act of charity" (Costa, P.M., "Tropical Forestry Practices for Carbon Sequestration: A Review and Case Study from Southeast Asia," Ambio Vol. 25 No. 4, June 1996)).

Corporate sponsorship

Corporations have been a bit slow in "adopting" parks but they have the money and a marketing-driven interest in taking a closer look at such schemes. See below for more details on a potential plan.

The Linden-Lovejoy-Phillips plan

One interesting idea proposed by Eugene Linden, Thomas Lovejoy, and J. Daniel Phillips for tropical rainforests consists of dividing natural areas into blocks and then soliciting funding commitments from international environmental groups, development institutions, corporations, and other credible donors. There would be a bidding process after which an entity would take responsibility for maintaining forest cover and forest health in each block of the entire forest system. This plan could be a road for corporations to become involved in conservation as a public relations/marketing tool. A given percentage of the proceeds could be put into a trust fund with the pay-out ear-marked for ongoing conservation and sustainable development programs

For more on Madagascar, please visit my other site, WildMadagascar.org

Suggested reading - Books

Madagascar, 8th: The Bradt Travel Guide
Madagascar Wildlife, 2nd: A Visitor's Guide
Birds of Madagascar: A Photographic Guide
Lords and Lemurs : Mad Scientists, Kings With Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar
The Eighth Continent: Life, Death, and Discovery in the Lost World of Madagascar
The Aye-Aye and I : A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction

Unless otherwise specified, this article was written by Rhett A. Butler [Bibliographic citation for this page]

Other resources

Contact me if you have suggestions on other rainforest-related environmental sites and resources for this country.

Recent news on Madagascar

MADAGASCAR NEWS UPDATES>b> [XML]

Satellites being used to track illegal logging, rosewood trafficking in Madagascar
(01/28/2010) Analysts in Europe and the United States are using high resolution satellite imagery to identify and track shipments of timber illegally logged from rainforest parks in Madagascar. The images could be used to help prosecute traders involved in trafficking and put pressure on companies using rosewood from Madagascar.

Coup leaders sell out Madagascar's forests, people
(01/27/2010) Madagascar is renowned for its biological richness. Located off the eastern coast of southern Africa and slightly larger than California, the island has an eclectic collection of plants and animals, more than 80 percent of which are found nowhere else in the world. But Madagascar's biological bounty has been under siege for nearly a year in the aftermath of a political crisis which saw its president chased into exile at gunpoint; a collapse in its civil service, including its park management system; and evaporation of donor funds which provide half the government's annual budget. In the absence of governance, organized gangs ransacked the island's biological treasures, including precious hardwoods and endangered lemurs from protected rainforests, and frightened away tourists, who provide a critical economic incentive for conservation. Now, as the coup leaders take an increasingly active role in the plunder as a means to finance an upcoming election they hope will legitimize their power grab, the question becomes whether Madagascar’s once highly regarded conservation system can be restored and maintained.

Natural rafts carried Madagascar's unique wildlife to its shores
(01/20/2010) Imagine, forty million years ago a great tropical storm rises up on the eastern coast of Africa. Hundreds of trees are blown over and swept out to sea, but one harbors something special: inside a dry hollow rests a small lemur-like primate. Currents carry this tree and its passenger hundreds of miles until one gray morning it slides onto a faraway, unknown beach. The small mammal crawls out of its hollow and waddles, hungry and thirsty, onto the beach. Within hours, amid nearby tropical forests, it has found the sustenance it needs to survive: in a place that would one day be named Madagascar.

Conservation organization, Durrell Wildlife Trust, forced to cut staff due to economic downturn
(01/19/2010) The Durrell Wildlife Trust—which turned fifty last year—has announced that it will be cutting back 10 percent of its workforce, approximately 12-14 positions, due to an ongoing deficit caused by the economic recession.

World Bank, European governments finance illegal timber exports from Madagascar
(01/11/2010) While Madagascar's current government has drawn sharp criticism from the international community for its failure to prevent the environmental destruction of recent months, France, Holland, Morocco, and the World Bank have all been implicated in financing illegal logging operations in Madagascar's national parks over the past year. Even as foreign governments condemned the surge in illegal logging last year, many--either directly or through institutions they support--are shareholders in the very banks that have financed the export of illegal lumber from Madagascar's SAVA region. The Bank of Africa Madagascar, for instance, is part owned by Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française du Développement, as well as the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, Dutch development bank FMO, and the Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur. Société Générale and Crédit Lyonnais, both part-owned by the French government, have also provided loans to illegal timber traders.

Madagascar sanctions logging of national parks
(01/11/2010) Madagascar has legalized the export of rosewood logs, possibly ushering in renewed logging of the country's embattled rainforest parks. The transitional authority led by president Andry Rajoelina, who seized power during a military coup last March, today released a decree that allows the export of rosewood logs harvested from the Indian Ocean island's national parks. The move comes despite international outcry over the destruction of Madagascar's rainforests for the rosewood trade. The acceleration of logging since the March coup has been accompanied by a rise in commercial bushmeat trafficking of endangered lemurs.

Facing cash crunch, will Madagascar's politicians sanction rainforest plunder?
(01/07/2010) Facing a severe cash crunch in the aftermath of a March military coup which triggered donor governments to suspend aid and crippled its economy, Madagascar's top politicians are reportedly mulling the export of tens of millions of dollars' worth of precious hardwoods illegally logged from the country's rainforest parks, according to high-placed sources in the Indian Ocean island nation.

Shipment of questionable Madagascar rosewood canceled after international outcry
(12/28/2009) A planned shipment of rosewood that had been illegally logged from Madagascar'a rainforest parks has been canceled following international outcry, report sources in Madagascar. The shipment, which would have been transported by Delmas, a French shipping company, had been scheduled for December 21st or 22nd out of the port of Vohemar.

Rainforest conservation: a year in review
(12/27/2009) 2009 may prove to be an important turning point for tropical forests. Lead by Brazil, which had the lowest extent of deforestation since at least the 1980s, global forest loss likely declined to its lowest level in more than a decade. Critical to the fall in deforestation was the global financial crisis, which dried up credit for forest-destroying activities and contributed to a crash in commodity prices, an underlying driver of deforestation.

French company CMA-CGM facilitating destruction of Madagascar's rainforests, undermining France's position in Copenhagen
(12/17/2009) Delmas, a subsidiary of French shipping giant CMA-CGM, is facilitating the destruction of Madagascar's endangered rainforests by providing transport for timber illegally logged from the country's national parks, report multiple sources that have been investigating the illegal rosewood trade in the Indian Ocean island nation. The accusations put Delmas directly in conflict with the French government's push at climate talks in Copenhagen to establish stronger safeguards against illegal logging.

Major international banks, shipping companies, and consumers play key role in Madagascar's logging crisis
(12/16/2009) In the midst of cyclone season, a 'dead' period for tourism to Madagascar's east coast, Vohémar, a sleepy town dominated by the vanilla trade, is abuzz. Vanilla prices have scarcely been lower, but the hotels are full and the port is busy. "This afternoon, it was like a 4 wheel drive show in front of the Direction Regionale des Eaux & Forets," one source wrote in an email on November 29th: "Many new 4x4, latest model, new plane at the airport, Chinese everywhere."

REDD in Madagascar
(12/08/2009) Despite damage from ongoing illegal logging, Madagascar's remaining forests are poised to benefit from the proposed REDD mechanism, a U.N.-backed scheme that would compensate tropical developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, reports a new paper that analyzes efforts to use carbon finance to protect the Indian Ocean island's remaining forests. The research is published in the open-access Madagascar Conservation & Development.

Authorities in Madagascar conduct raids to uncover illegal rosewood
(11/24/2009) Authorities in Madagascar over the weekend launched a series of raids to uncover rosewood and other precious hardwoods illegally logged from the country's national parks in the aftermath of a March military coup.

Gibson Guitar under federal investigation for alleged use of illegal rainforest timber from Madagascar
(11/19/2009) Federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raided Gibson Guitar's factory Tuesday afternoon, due to concerns that the company had been using illegally harvested wood from Madagascar, reports the Nashville Post.

Forgotten species: Madagascar's water-loving mammal, the aquatic tenrec
(11/12/2009) There are many adjectives one could attach to the aquatic tenrec: rare, mysterious, elusive, one-of-a-kind, even adorable, though one tries to stray from such value-laden titles since it excludes so many other non-adorable inhabitants of the animal kingdom. This small and, yes, cute insectivore, also known as the web-footed tenrec, lives in Eastern Madagascar where at night it spends the majority of its time swimming and diving in fast-moving streams for insects and tadpoles. It sleeps during the day in small streamside burrows. To date that is about the extent of our knowledge of this species.

House resolution condemns plunder of natural resources in Madagascar
(11/04/2009) A House of Representatives resolution introduced by Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) condemns the illegal plundering of natural resources in Madagascar, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Rosewood traffickers busted in Madagascar
(10/28/2009) Authorities in Madagascar have sacked a local official, arrested several businessmen, and issued fines following the discovery of illegally harvested rosewood logs aboard a ship, reports L'Express de Madagascar.

World's largest golden orb weaving spider discovered in South Africa and Madagascar
(10/21/2009) Golden orb weaving spiders have been garnering media attention recently. Last year stunning photographs of a golden orb weaver eating a bird in Australia made world coverage. Now, over a century after the last legitimate species of golden orb weaver was discovered, researchers have announced the discovery of a new and rare species of golden orb weaving spider in Africa and on the island of Madagascar. On average the new species is the largest of all golden orb weavers known.

Government decree sanctions trafficking of rainforest timber in Madagascar
(10/07/2009) A new decree by Madagascar's transitional government may fuel continued destruction of the country's tropical forests and biodiversity, warns a statement issued jointly by a dozen leading scientific and conservation groups.

Good news for the rarest lemur
(10/07/2009) A scientific expedition has found one of the Madagascar's rarest lemurs in a region where it was once thought to be extinct, report conservationists.

Innovative reforestation project threatened by 'regime change' in Madagascar, an interview with Rainer Dolch
(09/16/2009) In Madagascar the TAMS Program (Tetik'asa Mampody Savoka, meaning "the project to bring back the forest") is under threat due to the new government's unwillingness to provide funding. The current government, after gaining power in a coup this year, has frozen all funds slated for the project and has yet to sign a carbon credit agreement with the World Bank which would bring much needed funding. "It remains to be seen if the recognition or not of Madagascar's transitional Government will lead to signing the contract with the World Bank in the near future. This is of course essential for the continuity of the project and its future," Rainer Dolch told Monagaby.com in an interview.

Crowned sifaka population on the verge of local extinction: dispatch from the field
(09/08/2009) A small group of crowned sifaka lemurs Propithecus coronatus have been located in the corridor d’Amboloando-Dabolava, Miandrivazo district-Madagascar, but are immediately threatened with local extinction. The small, fragmented, and isolated forest shelters a group of only six adults and one baby. Interviews with local people revealed that once several groups of the species resided in the corridor, and even last year, about 20 individuals were still found there. However, within one year, the population dropped from 20 to 6 individuals.

Mining and biodiversity offsets in Madagascar: Conservation or 'Conservation Opportunities?'
(08/30/2009) Rio Tinto's ilmenite mine in southeastern Madagascar is among the largest on the planet. At peak capacity, its owners say, it could produce as much as 2 million tons of the stuff—worth roughly $100 a ton—each year, to be shipped off and smelted abroad. What's left of it after refining—some 60 percent of the ore that arrives from Madagascar—will be sold for $2000 a ton as titanium dioxide, a pigment used in everything from white paint and tennis court lines to sunscreen and toothpaste. At current levels of demand, the Fort Dauphin mine will provide 9 percent of the world supply over the next 40 years, amounting to more than $60 billion of titanium dioxide. Even that is a conservative estimate: demand for ilmenite has been growing at 3-5 percent annually, with major mines slated to close in coming years and few untapped sources known worldwide.

World's rarest duck flies closer to extinction's edge
(08/27/2009) The Madagascar pochard, the world's rarest duck, was already thought to be extinct once. After a last sighting in 1991 the species was thought to have vanished until nine adults and four hatchlings were discovered in 2006. However, conservationists have begun to fear that the species will never recover after a survey this year found only six females.

Destruction worsens in Madagascar
(08/20/2009) Armed bands are decimating rainforest reserves in northeastern Madagascar, killing lemurs and intimidating conservation workers, despite widespread condemnation by international environmental groups.

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