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MADAGASCAR
>> UNDP Equator Prize Finalists and Winners
Selected GEF biodiversity projects:
>> Environment Programme support project:
Project will fund: 1) management plan for forests outside the protected area (PA) system; 2) planning and zoning of new PAs; 3) development of community-based sustainable forestry management and sustainable harvesting regimes for non-timber forest products; 4) management plan for priority PAs of high biological value but low near-term economic value, as well as analytical work to reform PA fee-taxation policies; 5) rapid field inventory of Malagasy coral reef ecosystems and recommendations for marine parks; 6) technical support for regional environment programming, training and information needs; 7) review of national policies for exporting non-timber forest products; 8) comprehensive review of biodiversity outside PAs to inform conservation planning; 9) applied research and training for biodiversity management.>> First National Report to the CBD:
Assisting the government in preparing its First National Report to the CBD.>> Clearing house mechanism enabling activity:
This project will assist the national Government to meet its obligations under the CBD.>> Participatory community-based conservation in the Anjozorobe Forest Corridor:
Conserving biodiversity and habitat in the globally significant highland forest corridor of Anjozorobe, Madagascar.>> Back to top
UNDP Equator Prize Finalists and Winners:
>> Association of Manambolo Natives (FITEMA) (Equator Prize 2002 Finalist)
Although innovation is often associated with ‘newness’, innovation in biodiversity conservation often means a return to traditional practices that have stood the test of time and which provide an effective means of sustainably managing the environment in an era of increasing change. In Madagascar, a global hotspot of biodiversity, local people have re-established control over resources and have used an indigenous land use system (Dina) to help preserve the 5,100 ha of mid-altitude forests and 400 ha of swamps in the 7,500 ha Manambolo Valley. The initiative is reversing destructive forest removal practices, providing food security and protecting biological diversity in the richest part of one of the world's most significant biodiversity centers. FITEMA has blossomed from a local cultural and resource management association into a programme that can achieve a range of social, economic and ecological objectives.Prior to the colonial era, use of nature in the Manambolo Valley was governed through the traditional Dina system, applied by village elders with security provided by guardians at the valley entrances. Since the 1700's, colonial government gradually reduced the legitimacy of the system and allowed outside forces to gain control over resources in the valley. Environmental degradation and "anarchic exploitation" developed and continued following independence. In the mid 1990s, villagers approached WWF, which was working in the nearby Andringitra National Park, seeking assistance for protection of their forests and help in regaining control of their resource base. This led to the establishment of FITEMA and community communication with the Department of Water and Forests. After talks, legal transfer of all renewable resources to communities took place and a common vision on the part of valley residents was put forward.
Through the work of FITEMA, deforestation has been virtually eliminated, and residents monitor natural resources and community guards regulate access to the forest. Poverty is also being reduced, in part through social conflict reduction and reduction in problems between communities and government.
Better strategies of resource use are now possible, including improved dry season food security and pasture management for the Zebu cattle, local water management and regeneration of important depleted resources such as palms used in house construction. Apiculture has also been introduced. Biodiversity conservation is being achieved through the protection of both forest and water areas. With the Manambolo Valley lying strategically between two adjacent national parks (Andringitra and Ranomafana), an unbroken chain (168 km) of relatively intact rain forest can now be maintained. In total, the corridor covers almost 75,000 hectares and contains almost 50% of the mammal species in the nation. Overall, the improved management of the resources of the Manambolo Valley has help to guarantee a more certain future for both the villagers and the species they oversee.
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