Resilient Forests and Livelihoods

Protecting Madagascar’s Natural Heritage

Madagascar’s forests are home to thousands of animal and plant species found nowhere else on Earth. They are vital to the future health of humanity, and the planet.

But Malagasy people, faced with poverty and the impacts of climate change are, through no fault of their own, in danger of being trapped in a spiral of hunger and looming disaster. This poses a serious threat to them, and the environment on which we all rely.

Through education, training and practical support, our RSF programme enables farmers and forest dwellers to provide for their families, while protecting and restoring their fragile environment, for their benefit and the benefit of us all.

Eighty percent of plant and animal species native to Madagascar are unique to the island, which hosts five percent of all the world’s wildlife. Its plant species are in demand for medicine and cosmetic products, and the rainforest as a whole is vital to the ongoing wellbeing of the planet.

But Malagasy people are among the world’s poorest: 79.9 per cent live on less than £1.73 per day, the world’s poverty baseline. Despite Madagascar being one of only four countries which absorbs more carbon than it emits, its people are also among those suffering the worst impacts of climate catastrophe most regularly, including drought, crop death and the permanent loss of fertile soil for growing food.

Malagasy people are by an accident of birth charged with caring for this amazing and vital environmental wonder, but are also being pushed to the verge of desperation by food shortage and poverty. The threat to them, their environment, and as a result to all of us, is clear.

Our Resilient Forests and Livelihoods programme works with Malagasy farming and forest communities, providing education, training and practical support to help them provide for their families and protect and restore the rainforest, its animals and plants, to the benefit of us all.

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. By the nd of 2023 we had:

  • 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 

Sustainable Livelihoods

Conservation is vital to the future of the planet, but at the same time, improved and sustainable livelihoods are vital to men, women and children all over the world. The people of Madagascar cannot be forced to suffer for the environment in which they live. But they do not have to.

We work to deliver successful environmental protections alongside and as a part of the creation of sustainable livelihoods. Our projects provide alternative income-generating activities – sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and eco-tourism – that reduce the pressure on forests. By supporting these initiatives, we help communities build resilience, reduce their reliance on destructive practices, and actively protect and expand Madagascar’s unique forests. 

Education and Awareness

An accident of birth has made Malagasy people guardians of a key part of the global ecological system on which we all rely. Raising their awareness about the importance of forest conservation is a key part of our strategy, and the world’s future.

We work with schools, community groups, and local leaders to promote environmental education and encourage sustainable practices. By fostering a culture of conservation, we and the people of Madagascar are creating lasting change that will protect Madagascar’s forests for future generations. 

Climate Change Resilience

Madagascar is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change: protecting its forests is crucial for climate resilience.

Our Resilient 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 watershed preservation. 

YOUTH FOR LEMURS PROJECT (YFL) – Funded by DEFRA’s DARWIN Initiative 2022-2025

Enabling young people 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 are equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and experience they need to increase yields through sustainable farming, adopt aromatic and medicinal plants in their farming systems and market their products with ethical enterprises. They are now sharing their knowledge, skills, and experience in their communities and engaging them 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) 2023-2024

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. It supports forestry activities, such as the promotion of agroforestry, restoration of degraded habitats, and the training of young leaders to deliver support services related to forestry. CEPF is an example of MfM’s strategic commitment to investing in Malagasy-led conservation and development.

Find out more about CEPF

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

DAF is at the heart of our Forests and Livelihoods Programme. Building on the DAF model demonstrated by Nature Fund, our programme uses dynamic agro-forestry –  constructing and developing natural forest- and forest-like systems with high biomass production which supply as a side-effect a large variety of products for people, and which cuts plants to keep them in a youthful state to promote increased biomass production – to combat hunger and food insecurity, build better livelihoods, while 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, meaning local community groups 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, using seed funding from committed individuals, Trusts and Foundations. We have worked with the University of the West of England to support Sadabe in developing a robust conservation plan. New plans 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 worked with our partners SAF Melaky and FIVEMI to empower women to support their families and sustainably restore their degraded landscape. Working through a network of cooperatives, women and girls on Madagascar’s isolated west coast have empowered each other to build more climate-resilient lives through practical workshops, training and community savings schemes. These women inspired and trained other women. Leading by example, they built sustainable income-generating activities, undertook reforestation, mastered and adapted food-growing techniques, and delivered 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, and for more than a decade, MfM has supported inspiring women from Melaky to lead their own development and conservation.

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

 

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