There are several direct threats to ecosystem function and species diversity in Madagascar, including:
- agricultural expansion
- timber exploitation
- uncontrolled livestock grazing
- fuel wood collection/charcoal production
- hunting
- corporate and small-scale mining
- ornamental plant and wildlife collection
- introduction of exotic species
Estimates of forest destruction indicate that as much as 80% of Madagascar's original forest cover has disappeared in the 1,500-2,000 years since the arrival of humans. The human population is now about 15 million and growing at about 3% each year (doubling every 20-25 years), and Madagascar is one of the most economically disadvantaged countries in the world.
In Madagascar, the production of rice, coffee, vanilla and spices accounts for about 80% of the national economy, and this exerts continual pressure on remaining forested areas. For the most part, the country's lateritic soils, with their low fertility, are not well suited to such agricultural uses and experience high levels of erosion annually. According to World Bank estimates, some US$100-300 million of future agricultural potential is lost each year in Madagascar due to soil erosion.
Rice cultivation is the primary source of livelihood for 70% of the country's population; indeed, the Malagasy have the greatest per capita rice consumption of any country on Earth. Paddy rice is grown in the valleys and low plains in a few major agricultural centers and represents nearly three-fourths of the national rice production. Dry rice, while representing less than a third of the annual production, is grown throughout the country and often on deforested slopes in more mountainous areas. In the normal tavy process used in dry rice cultivation, natural vegetation is cleared and burned. The resultant ash provides sufficient nutrients to otherwise poor soil to allow for a season or two of crop production, after which the soil becomes exhausted and the farmer moves on, leaving the original plot to lay fallow and regenerate. Unfortunately, the average fallow time in much of Madagascar is far less than that required to regenerate nutrients, and this results in a net loss of both original vegetation and arable land. Current national estimates of forest loss due to shifting cultivation in Madagascar are on the order of 2,000 square kilometers per year.
At present, logging is actually a relatively minor threat to Madagascar's remaining forest ecosystems, as it is traditionally practiced with low levels of mechanization. Chainsaws are seldom used, and transport within the forest is most often by human or animal traction. However, if foreign companies are allowed to acquire concessions or if international donors increase support for sustainable forestmanagement in Madagascar, logging could quickly escalate to a major threat.
This is a problem in Madagascar, where a cattle-raising tradition was imported centuries ago from East Africa, and today there are at least as many cattle in Madagascar as there are people. Cattle grazing affects natural forest ecosystems through the clearance of vegetation, the annual burning to encourage new grass growth, and overgrazing in general. These problems are concentrated in the west and south, where cattle are the principal source of wealth.
Every year, large areas of natural forest in Madagascar are destroyed to provide fuelwood and charcoal for cooking. This problem is especially severe in the spiny desert forests of the south, where roadside charcoal stands are a common sight and help supply the needs of people living in distant towns.
Bush meat hunting is a major threat in Madagascar, especially for a number of the larger species. Certain lemurs e.g. the ruffed lemurs (Varecia spp.), the true lemurs (Eulemur spp.) and the sifakas (Propithecus spp.) are heavily affected, and even smaller species such as tenrecs, small carnivores, and a variety of birds are hunted as well. The radiated tortoise, which is protected by taboo in local culture, is sent in large quantities to Tulear and illegally to Réunion, where it is a prized delicacy. The large Madagascar side-necked turtle, found only in the rivers and lakes of the west coast, has been hunted to extinction in many areas. Overall, hunting should probably be considered a greater threat than the wildlife trade, since it affects many of the larger, more endangered species.
Madagascar is rich in valuable minerals and gemstones. As a result, it has attracted foreign attention for such valuable resources as titanium, which is mined on a commercial scale. It has also attracted itinerant miners in search of gold, sapphire and other precious stones. These events have had serious impact in areas such as Daraina (site of a proposed protected area) and existing parks and reserves such as the Ankarana Special Reserve.
The unique biota of Madagascar attracts an illicit and illegal trade in native plants and animals. Among vertebrates, reptiles and amphibians are the most heavily poached, and the scale of this trade is estimated at millions of dollars annually.
The introduction of invasive plants and animals is by far the most serious threat to native wildlife in the smaller islands of this hotspot. Introduced feral animals and game species have been particularly detrimental to island flora that had evolved no defenses against browsing and trampling by pigs (Sus scrofa), goats, cattle, deer (Cervus timorensis), rabbits and hares (
Oryctolagus cuniculusand
Lepus nigricollis), rats (Rattus rattus), monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and giant African land snails (Achatina fulica and A. panthera). Wet forests seem to be more susceptible than dry forests to invasion and degradation by exotic species.
In addition to the proximate threats described here, there are a number of indirect, but equally serious, threats to ecosystem functions and species diversity, especially in Madagascar, the principal focus of this profile. These include:
- policy setting practices
- governance and rule of law
- training and capacity
- limited biodiversity information
- disruptive effects of forest fragmentation
- lack of conservation benefits to local communities
Policy Setting Practices
In the parks and forestry sectors, the Malagasy governments practices of policy-making pose a threat to effective conservation. The National Association for the Management of Protected Areas (ANGAP) has no legal mandate to police the country's 46 parks and reserves, which cover approximately 17,187 square kilometers, or about 3% of the country. This authority rests with the Ministry of Water and Forests(MEF), which is principally concerned with managing logging practices in Madagascar's extensive national system of more than 250 classified forests and forest reserves, which cover an area of approximately 40,000 square kilometers, (about 7% of the land area) and no doubt harbor at least as much of Madagascar's biodiversity as the ANGAP-managed network, including a number of species of threatened plants and animals that are currently unprotected.
Certain bilateral donors have encouraged the MEF to generate resources by entering into more commercial logging, a disastrous scenario in a region where so little habitat remains and so many other threats are present. An alternate strategy would be for the MEF to redesignate its highest-priority forest reserves as biodiversity conservation reserves (ZODECOs), in return for which international NGOs would find the resources to carry out this conversion and to manage these protected areas in the long term. Pending legislation, focused on changing the MEF from a logging ministry to a more potent force for biodiversity conservation, should help advance this process.
Government services are inadequate throughout large areas of Madagascar. Where government is present, it is often severely underfunded, such that legislation regarding resource management, e.g. banning tavy and the use of brush fires is largely moot. The uneven application of existing laws can cause community resentment and actually result in the opposite of the intended effect of legislation.
In the realm of protected areas and forestry, ambiguous policy-making can threaten effective conservation. Because ANGAP has no formal legal mandate to police parks and reserves, attempts by NGOs to improve protected-area management have resulted in a confusion of roles and responsibilities. This situation illustrates the need for more targeted support of NGO efforts to strengthen protected areas.
Few formally trained protected-area personnel and biologists can be found in Madagascar; therefore much of the conservation work is done by expatriates. This problem, however, can also be viewed as an opportunity to foster partnerships between Malagasy scientists and expatriates who continue to work on conservation projects in Madagascar.
A small national scientific community and limited facilities for field research constrain the gathering and processing of important biodiversity data in Madagascar. Most of the country's remaining natural forest formations are found in remote areas, to which access is limited, time-consuming and expensive, and this has caused even basic inventory processes to lag behind conservation planning. Information from long-term ecological studies is even more limited.
The overall process and extent of forest fragmentation is itself a major and growing threat to Madagascar's biodiversity. Many of the country's forests are already so fragmented that their long-term contribution to ecosystem function and species diversity is questionable.
The lack of tangible benefits to local communities from ongoing conservation activities ultimately undermines the long-term success of these activities. Some of the most profitable enterprises, for example- including nature tourism and the medicinal plant trade- largely or solely benefit foreign entrepreneurs. Without appropriate models for community integration and benefit sharing, local support for conservation projects is unlikely.
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