In the past 20 years, 29% of Madagascar’s forests have disappeared. Researchers predict that 38-93% of the forest present in 2000 could disappear by 2050 [1]. The primary cause for deforestation in Madagascar is the slash-and-burn practice for pasture and agriculture. Historically and culturally known as tavy, the process involves setting vegetation alight after being cut down, creating potential land for rice cultivation. Even though the slash-and-burn method has been illegal since 1987, it continues to be practiced because almost nobody is prosecuted for forest clearance. Other causes include selective logging for precious woods or construction material, the collection of fuel wood (including charcoal production) and, in certain sites, forest clearing for mining. Nearly 90% of Madagascar's population relies on biomass for their daily energy needs and the correlation between population size and deforestation has previously been researched in Madagascar. While the drivers of biodiversity loss are clear: slash-and-burn agriculture and uncontrolled anthropogenic wildfires rooted in the nutritional and economic poverty of local community members, it’s not the disadvantaged rural population that should suffer from overly zealous conservation protections.
The island is home to about 28 million people and growing rapidly (avg 51.64/km2 with 2.4% annual increase).The majority (~80%) of which are currently living in extreme poverty (less than $2 USD per day), more than almost anywhere else on Earth. The pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have emerged as a moment of reckoning for conservation efforts, exposing the risks of developing countries relying heavily on foreign revenue and not focusing enough on communities at the frontline of safeguarding biodiversity.
The solution is to identify and interrupt the root causes of forest degradation and deforestation by providing access to healthcare, regenerative livelihoods, and educational support [5]. In 2021, the Malagasy government reaffirmed its desired to implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adopted a reform strategy, including ending extreme poverty, fighting against inequalities and injustice, and solving the problem of climate change. Recently, UN Partners have increased social services, like reproductive health services and agricultural insurance. REDD+ is establishing community-based reforestation programs and providing local communities with an alternative to slash and burn agriculture. However, the year 2021 was marked by an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Great South of Madagascar – cyclical famine, one of the worst droughts in 40 years, an invasion of locusts (June-July), sandstorms, and diseases that affect both plants and animals. In 2022, the country was impacted by five tropical cyclones, floods, and landslides, which has increased levels of poverty and reduced resilience to natural hazards. Tackling poverty is the key to saving Madagascar’s forests.
Madagascar faces the classic dilemma - how to feed the growing, starving population, which is at poverty level, educating youth in their own cultures to revere the uniqueness of their natural heritage, and respect that heritage enough to co-exist with it. Mobilizing local communities to apply better management of natural resources is exceedingly difficult here due to poverty, local conflicts, and the current political crisis. People need economic and other benefits, and conservation measures must account for these needs. Creating livelihoods for the local communities through ecotourism will increase participation in conservation and improve outcomes for biodiversity.