Makira Protected Area

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) recently announced the establishment of a new protected area in Madagascar. To read the full article and for more information visit the following sites:

www.wcs.org/353624/madagascarsnewprotectedarea
www.wcs.org/international/Africa/madagascar/makira

For me this new found information has provided a better understanding of my duties as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Until now my assignment as a Protected Areas Management Volunteer seemed a little vague. The idea of working on natural resource management activities in rural communities near protected areas has left me wondering about the innumerable possibilities I could face in the future. It is encouraging to see a concrete example of protected area management in Madagascar that is in line with my assignment and how it will benefit both the community and natural resources. The site will be co-managed by WCS and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests (MINEF). As a PCV my primary duty is to meet the needs of MINEF and other partner organizations. The new Protected Areas System was designed to involve local communities in natural resource management.

Whether or not I will be assigned to work in this particular area of Madagascar, I don't know. Makira Protected Area is one of five newly established protected areas, with more sure to follow. President of Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana has committed to increasing the total area protected from 1.7 million to six million hectares by 2008.

Assignment

Here some details from the assignment booklet I recieved and additional comments on the environmental health of Madagascar

Country: Madagascar
Program: Environment Project
Job Title: Protected Areas Management Volunteer
Dates of Service: April 2006-May 2008

The first Peace Corps program in Madagascar began in 1993 and to this date 514 volunteers have served there. The environment sector was established in 1994 with the following goals,

to reduce degradation of natural resources, develop capacity of local individuals and institutions, and enhance management capabilities of responsible government officials and non-government organizations.

Madagascar is one of the world's top hotspots for biodiversity, In Madagascar 80% of the plants and animals are endemic, that is they are found nowhere else on earth.

To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5 percent of the world’s total) as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat (www.biodiversityhotspots.org).

While Madagascar is one of the world's richest areas of biodiversity, economically it is one of the poorest. It is primarily an agrarian society where "nearly 80% of the original forestland has been converted into agriculture land." Environmental degradation has resulted from unsustainable agricultural practices, such as slash and burn agriculture practiced by rice farmers, which lead to deforestation, soil erosion, and decreased fertility.

Currently Madagascar has 46 protected areas which are managed by the Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées (ANGAP) and the Ministère des Eaux et Forêts (MINEF). ANGAP is the National Park Service equivelent, whereas MINEF is more like the USDA-Forest Service, which allows sustainable resource use. However, the goal of the MINEF is to allow the local communities to manage their resources.

Ho eny Madagasikara aho!

I've created this blog in hopes of keeping family and friends updated on my adventures in Madagasar, where I have been invited to serve as a Protected Areas Management Volunteer for the Peace Corps. It all sounds good in theory, but I don't know how often I will be able to access the internet to update this site. Even if its one posting per month, I think the result will be more efficient and organized than mailing letters home.

If you have any questions realated to Madagascar and my journal entries please post them under the comments and I will respond. You may also contact me by email at scott_w_schmidt@yahoo.com.

"Ho eny Madagasikara aho" is the Malagasy phrase for "I'm going to Madagascar." A good reference site is http://www.wildmadagascar.org/.