MBG: Development through conservation
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under madagascar
Chris Birkinshaw (right) and Christian Camara (center), both of MoBot, inspect flora at the Ankafobe reserve in Central Madagascar
Solofo, president of the local fokontany, checks sohisika seedlings at the nursery
Seedlings of sohisika, a tree endemic to only a few small stands of forest in central Madagascar
Before leaving Madagascar, I took a day-trip with botanists Chris Birkinshaw and Christian Camara from the Missouri Botanical Garden to inspect a small nature reserve and several associated projects.
Though the Garden has been doing taxonomic research in Madagascar for some three decades, in the last several years the St. Louis conservation group has expanded into true preservation efforts. Earlier this decade, the Garden identified high-priority sites that contained rare and precious flora that weren’t likely to be protected by other large organizations or the government, which typically focus on prestigious animals (lemurs) or large swaths of forest.
The Garden now runs 11 preserves and would like to expand. The smallest is Ankafobe, several hours’ drive from the capital, Antananarivo. Here, the Garden is trying to save the last remnants of an endemic tree, known locally as sohisiska (pronounced like SWEES-skah).
This small swath of forest has been decimated by logging and is now too small to withstand the wildfires that routinely sweep the high plateau. The only wild sohiska in the world grow a few square miles here, and most are within the small stand at the Ankafobe preserve.
As Birkinshaw put it, “If one fire were to make it in there, we’re talking about potential extinction of a species.”
To make the reserve effective, the Garden has enlisted the cooperation of the local villagers, for whom the forest in recent years has been little more than overlooked pathetic stand of trees (it may once have been an economic resource but it is now just a dot on the map).
To increase local appreciation, the Garden has worked with local lawmaking bodies creating rules to protect the remaining trees and turn it into something of an education and budding tourist site. Now, local students use the reserve for field trips, and the nearby village sells T-shirts that have raised enough money to put a new roof on a school.
In another part of the conservation equation: the Garden has connected the locals with small development projects to keep bees, grow coffee, raise fish and rear native plants. The goal is for the village to have a small market selling all its products to road traffic and visitors to the reserve.
Solofo, the president of the fokontany, the smallest administrative district in Malagasy government, says the efforts have slowly grown local pride in the small but rare forest. They build fire breaks, work daily patrols and assist the Garden in replanting efforts.
A nearby larger city even put the tree on its official symbol a few years ago. A small sohisika now grows outside the mayor’s office there.
Tags: ankafobe, antananarivo, conservation, environment, madagascar, missouri botanical garden, photography, plants, sohisika, trees
One Response to “MBG: Development through conservation”
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ADAM JADHAV » Blog Archive » A year-in-review Says:
September 16th, 2010 at 12:58 am[...] enjoyed fantastic sunsets in far-flung areas, toured a mine that claims to be eco-friendly and followed around conservationists. Oh, yeah, I played with lemurs, lemurs and more [...]
