- The sacred forests of Sakoantovo and Vohimasio in southern Madagascar are conserved through an innovative mix of modern forest management mechanisms and traditional practises. The forests are inhabited by spirits and protected by several taboos - and modern community-based forest management.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is celebrating an innovative approach to conservation, with a commitment to conserve the sacred forests of Sakoantovo and Vohimasio in southern Madagascar, the environmentalist group says today.
The Mahafaly and Tandroy communities of southern Madagascar, local authorities, and the Malagasy government have committed to conserve the sacred forests of Sakoantovo (6,163 ha) and Vohimasio (30,170 ha), with responsibility for their management transferred to the local population through an agreement between the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests, and local communities represented by their traditional leaders.
- WWF has recognised these two initiatives as a Gift to the Earth, WWF's highest accolade for a globally significant contribution to the protection of the living world, according to the group.
During the last decade, conservation efforts have progressively opened to more social approaches integrating local control over natural resources and benefits to local communities. Culture and indigenous knowledge are playing an increasingly important role in conservation and resource management approaches.
In Madagascar, this has been translated by the establishment of a legal framework for community-based natural resource management (Gestion Locale Sécurisée and Gestion Contractualisée des Forêts).
To the Mahafaly and Tandroy communities of southern Madagascar, the forest has always held a central position within social and cultural life, inspiring respect through a great number of taboos and norms.
Sacred forests, where the remains of royal ancestors lie, are also sources of many medicinal plants and have therefore been zealously protected for centuries. However, they are threatened by overexploitation of forest resources to meet growing human needs.
Handing the control and management of these natural resources to their traditional stewards is therefore necessary to warrant more effective, sustainable conservation.
In 2001, a management transfer process for the Sakoantovo sacred forests was initiated. This led to an official contract in April 2003. In Vohimasio, a similar contract in favour of the Ifotaky community will be finalized on 17 June 2003. These contracts are the first ever in southern Madagascar, and will hopefully inspire other communities to conserve the unique biodiversity of the island.
The Sakoantovo forest contains habitat typical of the spiny forest of south-western Madagascar, with a transitional zone to riparian forest dominated by Tamarindus trees. It is extremely rich in wildlife including healthy populations of five species of lemurs. The sacred forest also shelters the tombs of the Mahafaly Maroseranana royal family.
To neighbouring Tandroy communities, the Vohimasio forest is a sacred place inhabited by spirits and protected by several taboos. Vohimasio is adjacent to another sacred forest that has served as a burial ground for several centuries. The forest is an important core area of conservation landscape in a transitional zone from humid forest to spiny forest that harbours several unique flora and fauna species.
Sacred forests cover a total area of 60,000 ha in the Spiny Forest ecoregion of Madagascar, one of the biologically richest drylands on earth and one of WWF's Global 200 ecoregions — a science-based global ranking of the Earth's most biologically outstanding habitats.
According to WWF's assessments, conserving 15 to 25 percent of each type of habitat in this region would be necessary in order to preserve its natural riches in the long term. Community-based forest management linked with traditional values and practices therefore represents an important means to reach this conservation objective.
Through their Local Management Committees, the communities of Sakoantovo and Vohimasio have committed to sustainably manage these culturally and biologically unique sacred forests. A management plan for each forest will be finalised in 2004. Efforts are underway to gain further legal recognition for the areas as "agreed protected areas" or provincial parks in 2005.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español