Madagascar Conservation & Development (E-Journal)
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Establishing Solar Water Disinfection as a Water Treatment Method at Household Level
Get PDF1.1 billion People worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water and therefore are exposed to a high risk for diarrhoeal diseases. As a consequence, about 6,000 children die each day of dehydration due to diarrhoea. Adequate water treatment methods and safe storage of drinking water, combined with hygiene promotion, are required to prevent the population without access to safe drinking water from illness and death. Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is a new water treatment to be applied at household level with a great potential to reduce diarrhoea incidence of users. The method is very simple and the only resources required for its application are transparent PET plastic bottles (or glass bottles) and sufficient sunlight: microbiologically contaminated water is filled into the bottles and exposed to the full sunlight for 6 hours. During solar exposure, the diarrhoea causing pathogens are killed by the UV-A radiation of the sunlight. At present, SODIS is used by about 2 Million users in more than 20 countries of the South. Diarrhoea incidence of users significantly has been reduced by 30 to 70 %. A careful and long-term community education process that involves creating awareness on the importance of treating drinking water and initiates behaviour change is required to establish the sustainable practice of SODIS at community level. In Madagascar, more than 160 children younger than 5 years die each day from malaria, diarrhoea and acute respiratory illnesses. The application of household water treatment methods such as SODIS significantly could contribute to improve their health
Solar Cooking in Madagascar
Get PDFThe article describes the contribution of the ADES (Association pour le Développement de l’Énergie Solaire Suisse - Madagascar) Solar Cooker Project in the south of Madagascar: fighting the ongoing deforestation, preserving the environment and fighting poverty. It explains advantages and disadvantages of solar cooking and the challenges to change traditional cooking habits. It shows the achievements of the project after five years of existence and the future goals and long term perspectives of ADES in the field of cooking methods and in the field of electricity in rural areas by using renewable energies
Scientific Bases for a Participatory Forest Landscape Management: A new Research Project in Central Menabe
No full textIn Madagascar – a biodiversity hotspot of international importance – the villagers depend on the forest first for its soil as a reserve of arable land as well as a shelter and a pasture for the herds, and second for the production of timber, charcoal and other forest products. Most of the currently proposed conservation management systems for forests do not take into consideration villagers’ needs, in Madagascar too; indeed degradation and deforestation have continuously occurred in places where the forest is under great pressure.In targeting the improvement of the livelihood of local populations and the maintenance of “multifunctionality”, especially the ecological value of the forest, the present project aims at developing scientific criteria for a sustainable management of forest landscapes in western Madagascar at a regional scale. A detailed inventory of resources and a specific understanding of stakeholder requirements and strategies will allow drawing an accurate picture of the human-forest interface. A participatory approach paves the way for realistic management criteria that are really adequate to the ecological and social situations. The management criteria will provide a tool for further discussions on landscape management in central Menabe
Roots & Shoots – a Model for Active Environmental Protection
Get PDFMadagascar is facing severe environmental problems. One approach to engage possible future stakeholders and to raise awareness for environmental concerns is the Roots & Shoots program. On the following the program and its philosophy are presented
Aspects de la Conservation des Reptiles et des Amphibiens dans la Région de Daraina
Get PDFThis paper deals with conservation aspects of amphibians and reptiles in the Daraina region, north eastern part of Madagascar, where herpetological surveys undertaken between October 2002 and March 2003 and between October 2003 and March 2004 lead to the discovery of 36 amphibians and 74 reptiles. Thirteen taxa among them are currently known only within the Daraina forest areas, and 20 are listed in the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendices II and I. These high herpetofaunal species diversity and endemism demonstrate the value of this site in terms of terrestrial vertebrate conservation in Madagascar, and the need of an urgent conservation strategy to protect these natural resources
Combining Conservation & Development
Get PDFMadagascar is a land of contrasts, from the every day humid rainforest on the Masoala Peninsula, to the rough and sharp peaks of the Tsingy de Bemaraha, to the marshes of Lake Tsimanampetsotsa. And its people are equally divers, from Zebu keeper of Morondave, to the fisherman of the Lake Alaotra, to the rice cultivators of the Fianarantsoa. An even more impressive diversity can be found in the rich wildlife with its unique endemic features. Nevertheless, all these peculiarities are under enormous pressure. Human needs for natural resources such as wood for charcoal, bushmeat for protein supply or land for crop cultivations and cattle farming are putting deep, unsustainable impacts on the Malagasy environment. Conservation and development issues are becoming more and more important. Consequently the idea of a forum for the exchange of experiences and knowledge in the respective fields has arisen. Thanks to the positive feedback and the many contributions from researchers and organisations working in Madagascar, Madagascar Wildlife Conservation (MWC) and the Jane Goodall Institute Switzerland (JGI Switzerland) are able and happy to present the first issue of the new journal MADAGASCAR CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT – the MCD journal. The journal’s editorial board is constituted of experts from different disciplines, organizations and universities, which are all involved in conservation or development work in Madagascar.Thanks to the board members voluntary work and extra hours, the professionalism of the numerous reviewers and the many contributions of the authors, this issue has become reality. The editors are proud to present already a broad variety of contributions ranging from scientific articles about reptile conservation, to the presentation of solar ovens as an alternative to charcoal use, to an essay about the fifteen years of NEAP (National Environmental Action Plan). MCD also presents an interview with three Malagasy women involved in different ways in the CPALI (Conservation trough Poverty Alleviation) Wild Silk Project. To keep this journal on a high standard for the future issues MCD encourages all young researchers and development workers, especially Malagasy scientists and conservationists, to contribute to this journal. Further, it is crucial that the readers provide feedback and tell their colleagues in conservation and development fields about this journal. This will give the journal a chance to become a viable forum of exchange of knowledge and technologies for Madagascar. The journal MCD is launched as an open source journal. The limited accessibility of the World Wide Web in Madagascar forces MCD to be also available as printed edition. To cover layout, printing and distribution costs MCD hopes to place in future (more) advertisements and announcements in the journal from the private sector. Sponsorships and funds will be very welcome and necessary. The journal will be distributed to universities, libraries, publishers and other suitable organisations, and of course any individuals interested in the field
Communautés locales et gibiers dans la région de Daraina, extrême Nord-Est de Madagascar
Get PDFWild meats take part in the daily protein sources for many Malagasy rural communities. Many animal species are affected by hunting, which is practiced during almost all seasons in Madagascar. In the Daraina region, animal groups hunted by local people are mainly mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles. As the natural habitats within this region are actually highly perturbated by human activities, and as this region shows a high population growth, hunting may constitute a severe threat for many species. Sustainable management of these later depends on local population awareness regarding the threats of intensive hunting on animals as well as on the natural ecosystems
Comic Strips as Environmental Educative Tools for the Alaotra Region
Get PDFThe Alaotra Gentle Lemur (Hapalemur griseus alaotrensis) is one of the most endangered lemurs of Madagascar. The wild population struggles for survival in the rapidly disappearing papyrus marshes fringing Lake Alaotra, northeastern Madagascar. The current estimated population size of the Alaotra lemurs is about 3,000 individuals. The largest subpopulations left are found in the marshes around the four villages of Andreba, Ambodivoara, Andilana Sud and Anororo. These sites constitute the main focus of Madagascar Wildlife Conservation’s (MWC) environmental education project. In a test phase lasting from November 2006 - February 2007, eight primary school classes will implement a series of educative comic strips dealing with the complexity of the Alaotra lake and marshy ecosystem. The aim of this teaching method is to raise the awareness of the schoolchildren about the importance and significance of their natural environment
Indigenous silk moth farming as a means to support Ranomafana National Park: report on a feasibility study
No full textWe envisage a world where the rural poor can derive a livelihood from protecting forests instead of cutting them down; where development planners understand that habitat health is the keystone for human health and survival, and where conservation biologists understand that long - term solutions to biodiversity loss must be built around social programs which enable local people to thrive. Our vision, however, can only be achieved when scientists express the role of biodiversity conservation in economic terms (Baird and Dearden 2003), and development planners understand environmental complexity and its role in poverty alleviation. Our long - term goal is to develop a generalized approach to biodiversity conservation that will enable scientists and development professionals to identify, plan and initiate sustainable, small - scale businesses in ecologically important areas. This paper reports on a recent study to expand current production of wild silk and explore new types of silk as one economic means of biodiversity protection in Madagascar.Madagascar is one of the most important centers of world biodiversity and 90% of its species are forest dwelling. Nevertheless, 80% of the population are subsistence farmers (Kistler and Spack 2003), and the predominant agricultural practice is “tavy” or slash and burn. Less than 10% of the original forest remains. Development and conservation communities can effectively prevent deforestation only when they counter the macroeconomic forces that drive people to clear land. Small-scale farmers cut down forests because national and international policies, market conditions or local institutions do not provide them with reasonable alternatives (Tomich et al. 2005). Furthermore, even when alternatives are made available, results are difficult to achieve in a short time. At least some actions need to be implemented pro-actively, in sites that are currently healthy but near areas of potential population growth.We have been working for the past year to develop an approach to identify high value export products (i.e. products whose value is likely to be least vulnerable to macroeconomic shock; Castellano and San 2005), that can be found in areas of high biodiversity and conservation importance. One such product may be wild silk. Wild silk can be sustainably harvested in remote areas and easily transported to commercial centers. To determine if wild silk is a potential means of income generation for people living in areas of Madagascar where silk has not been traditionally produced, we gathered three types of information:1. The diversity of silk producing larvae in the Eastern Forest Corridor and specifically in Ranomafana, 2. The physical properties of larval silk and their estimated commercial value, 3. How to apply our data in order to select sites where wild silk production could have a maximum economic and conservation effect. We emphasize that the work reported here is preliminary and that we are working to expand our database for silkworm larvae and potential projects sites. All of these data will be posted on the website for Conservation through Poverty Alleviation (www.cpali.org) as we progress. Elsewhere we report the life-history biology of the species found to date and analyze the economic resources that will need to be generated by local communities to engage in silk production for commercial markets (Craig and Weber, in prep.)
Preserving Madagascar's Natural Heritage: The Importance of Keeping the Island's Vertebrate Fossils in the Public Domain
Get PDFThe origin of Madagascar’s highly endemic vertebrate fauna remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of natural history. From what landmasses did the basal stocks of this unique and imbalanced fauna come? When and how did the ancestral populations arrive on the island? How rapidly did they diversify, and why? The most direct means of addressing these questions, and other enigmas concerning the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Madagascar’s vertebrate fauna, is through discovery of fossils from a sequence of well-dated geological horizons. Many fossils relevant to these queries have been discovered by paleontologists in recent years ... but many more are being lost to commercial enterprises, both foreign and domestic, that have little or no regard for the scientific significance of fossils. The objectives of this essay are to 1) provide an overview of Madagascar’s vertebrate fossil record and its importance, 2) raise awareness concerning the illegal collection, exportation, and sale of vertebrate fossils, and 3) stress the importance of keeping vertebrate fossils from the island in the public domain. In light of these issues, we underscore the necessity for development of adequate repositories and support infrastructure in Madagascar to safeguard and display the country’s vertebrate fossil collections; doing so would ensure the preservation and appreciation of Madagascar’s rich natural heritage for future generations of scientists and Malagasy citizens alike