Eric’s story: supporting livelihoods to protect the forest

We are supporting Malagasy organisations – and Malagasy people like Eric Randrianantoanina – to protect the environment upon which we all rely, and to improve their lives. Meet Eric…

Madagascar has some of the world’s most spectacular wilderness. Almost 90 per cent of plant and animal species on the island are found only here, and it contains five per cent of all the world’s species of flora and fauna.

But Malagasy people also face severe challenges. Ninety per cent of Madagascar’s people live on or below the global poverty baseline (£2.22 per day), making pressure to clear more land for agriculture or goods-production fierce.

As a result, Madagascar has the world’s fourth-highest rate of deforestation.

It has already lost 80 per cent of its natural areas and loses around 200,000ha. to deforestation each year.

At the current rate of deforestation, the complete loss of Madagascar’s forests will happen within 40 years.

And more than 600 Malagasy plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. More than 3.900 (3,912) are ‘endangered’.

One way we are working to help prevent this looming disaster is by engaging people living close to Malagasy forests and other areas of wilderness to improve and maintain their livelihoods and living standards, and take leading roles in protecting and expanding those vital oases of nature.

In collaboration with our partners such as the Mitsinjo Andasibe association (Mitsinjo), we support local initiatives that combine environmental protection with improved production, incomes, and living conditions for Malagasy men, women and children.

Eric Randrianantoanina is a nurseryman with Mitsinjo in the Moramanga district of Madagascar’s Alaotra Mangoro region.

He says: ‘My work as a nurseryman is very rewarding.

‘I left school in the seventh grade. I was sure that I would never find a stable job. To support myself and my parents, I turned to charcoal making. It’s a job which is closely tied to deforestation. I didn’t yet understand the importance of protecting the environment and forests.’

His life and work were changed when a Mitsinjo technician encouraged him to stop making charcoal and instead offered him a role in Mitsinjo’s tree nursery. Eric took part in training and awareness sessions that allowed him to become fully aware of the value of forests and the need to preserve them.

Today, Eric has been with Mitsinjo for ten years, and uses his knowledge and experience to promote environmental protection throughout his community.

He said: ‘I now encourage my neighbours to protect nature and avoid deforestation.

‘Before, I was unemployed and without resources. Today, I have been able to start a family: I am married and have three children, and I have even been able to build my house.

‘I have received constant support, and I want to say a big thank you to the Mitsinjo association for their inspiration and precious help. I now understand the crucial importance of protecting the environment and forests, which guarantee a better future for generations to come.’

Your support for MfM is vital to our work with partners including Mitsinjo, to help men, women and children in Madagascar engage in environmental protection which benefits us all while, vitally, also helping them to improve their livelihoods and lives.

Even as Eric thanks Mitsinjo, we thank Mitsinjo, Eric, and you!