Forests and Livelihoods

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Community-Led Conservation Madagascar’s forests are home to incredible biodiversity, but they are under threat from deforestation and unsustainable practices. MfM works hand-in-hand with local communities to promote sustainable land management and conservation efforts. We empower communities to take ownership of their natural resources, ensuring that conservation efforts are both effective and sustainable. 

 

• Set up 24 community-based savings and loan groups with 2,427 members. 

• Managed 24 demonstration plots with Dynamic Agroforestry techniques. 

• Planted 26,758 endemic plants to restore 20 hectares of natural forests. 

• Supported youth groups in sustainable farming and formalised five cooperatives. 

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Sustainable Livelihoods

We understand that conservation must be successful alongside the creation of sustainable livelihoods. Our projects provide alternative income-generating activities that reduce the pressure on forests, such as sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and eco-tourism. By supporting these initiatives, we help communities build resilience and reduce their reliance on destructive practices. 

Education and Awareness

Raising awareness about the importance of forest conservation is a key part of our strategy. We work with schools, community groups, and local leaders to promote environmental education and encourage sustainable practices. By fostering a culture of conservation, we aim to create lasting change that will protect Madagascar’s forests for future generations. 

Climate Change Resilience

Madagascar is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and protecting its forests is crucial for climate resilience. Our Forests and Livelihoods programme conserves biodiversity and helps communities adapt to the changing climate. We contribute to a more resilient environment through reforestation projects, sustainable farming techniques, and the preservation of watersheds. 

 

YOUTH FOR LEMURS PROJECT- Funded by DEFRA’s DARWIN Initiative 2022-2025

Enabling youths to lead lemur conservation in eastern Madagascar.

This project tackles a key driver of Madagascar’s accelerated biodiversity loss: the growing population’s need to clear forests for agriculture. Around three Reserves in eastern Madagascar, we will equip 200 youths with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to increase yields through sustainable farming, adopt aromatic and medicinal plants in their farming systems and market their products with ethical enterprises. Youths will share their knowledge, skills, and experience in their communities and will engage all members in lemur conservation stewardship.

Partners Include: Madagasikara Voakajy, Association Mitsinjo , Label CBD Consulting,  Delegation de la Jeunesse Moramanga , Circonscription de l’Agriculture, de l’Elevage et de la Peche , Circonscription de l’Environnement et du Developpement Durable 

CRITICAL ECOSYSTEM PARTNERSHIP FUND (CEPF) 2023-2026

This project aims to strengthen the capacities of local communities and civil society at regional and local levels to improve adaptive capacity and reduce exposure to climate change risks. Supporting forestry activities, such as the promotion of agroforestry, restoration of degraded habitats, and training of young leaders to deliver support services related to forestry. This capacity building and training project is an example of MfM’s strategic commitment to investing in Malagasy-led conservation and development.

DYNAMIC AGRO-FORESTRY PROJECT (DAF) – with Sadabe in the Tsinjoarivo Rainforest – 2022 onwards

This new DAF programme is at the heart of MfM’s new Forests and Livelihoods Programme. Building on the DAF model demonstrated by Nature Fund, MfM’s new DAF programme tests how DAF may be used in Madagascar to combat hunger and food insecurity whilst restoring land and protecting forests. The Tsinjoarivo forest has been identified (by the Rainforest Trust) as a priority conservation site, where unique flora and fauna are under pressure of extinction from vulnerable farming communities who rely on the forest for their livelihoods. Highly inaccessible, the Tsinjoarivo forest has been largely overlooked by significant conservation NGOs, whilst local community groups have struggled to take on the huge conservation challenge with little help. In 2021, MfM formed a new partnership with a long-established NGO, Sadabe, which has built strong relationships with the farming communities around the Tsinjoarivo forest. Together, we launched a DAF pilot programme in Tsinjoarivo, thanks to seed funding from committed individuals and Trusts and Foundations. MfM has partnered with the University of the West of England to support Sadabe in developing a robust conservation plan. New plans will combine practical fieldwork led by Sadabe alongside research led by the University of Antananarivo with support from UWE and MfM. The broader objectives are to develop a robust and practical model that combines conservation with food security to benefit farming communities in environmental hotspots across Madagascar. Funding is currently sought to deliver this ambitious project.

PROJET ‘FIERES’ – Women’s conservation for resilience in Melaky Region – funded by the Ambassade de France’s PISCAA fund – 2023-2024.

In Maintirano and the Melaky region, we are working with our partners SAF Melaky and FIVEMI to empower women to support their families and restore their degraded landscape sustainably. Working through a network of cooperatives, women and girls on Madagascar’s isolated west coast empower each other to build more climate-resilient lives through practical workshops, training and community savings schemes. Women inspire and train other women. Leading by example, they build sustainable income-generating activities, undertake reforestation, master adapted food-growing techniques and deliver conservation education to schools and community groups. The Melaky region is cut off from the rest of the Island by an impassible road for many months of the year. This inaccessible region suffers from chronic underfunding and lack of support from conservation and development agencies. For over a decade, MfM has supported inspiring women from Melaky to lead their own development and conservation. MfM is delighted to secure new funding to expand this work in 2023.

Find out more about MfM’s work in Melaky…

MITSINJO REFORESTATION PROJECT

In Andasibe –Mantadia we are supporting the local community to restore the decimated forest that used to surround the famous Andasibe National Park and the Torotorofotsy protected wetland. Planting wildlife corridors of indigenous tree species provides local employment and helps preserve biodiversity, enabling endangered wildlife like the Indri lemur to reach fresh pockets of forest to find new breeding partners. Sustainable livelihood development activities provide families with alternatives to destructive slash and burn agriculture.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Find out more…

RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS IN ANALAMANGA -in partnership with WtDM

In Analamanga, we are working with our Malagasy NGO partner Working Together for the Development of Madagascar ‘WtDM’ to tackle extreme poverty and build resilience in in villages that face food insecurity, as their crops are ruined by extreme weather and natural disasters resulting from climate change. We work with families, living below the poverty line, to identify and address underlying causes of food insecurity and climate vulnerability, through agro-forestry, climate smart farming, income diversification and community savings schemes.

Find out more…