Introduction to the Madagascar projects

Madagascar boasts some of the most spectacular biodiversity in the world including lemurs, tenrecs, baobabs, and over half of all known chameleon species. There are three very different forest ecosystem types: dry forest in the west, humid rainforest in the east, and spiny forest in the south.  The Operation Wallacea surveys are currently concentrating on dry forests and associated wetlands of Mahamavo in the north, the spiny forest surrounding Ifotaka in the Mandrare Valley in the south and the dry forests and reefs of the Lokobe Reserve on Nosy Be Island.

The Mahamavo dry forest ecosystem and adjacent wetlands have exceptional biodiversity, but much remains to be discovered.  Diurnal lemurs include Coquerel’s sifaka and the common brown lemur, and there are several species of nocturnal lemurs.  Madagascar is the global centre of diversity for chameleons.  Several species can be found in Mahamavo including two spectacular large species, Furcifer oustaleti and Furcifer angeli.  The wetlands support the critically endangered Madagascar fish eagle, a flagship species for the area, and the endangered Humblot’s heron.

The Mariarano forest provides livelihoods for several neighbouring communities in terms of agricultural land, fuel and construction wood as well as some wild food, hunting and medicinal plants. The wetlands in the coastal area support fisheries, which constitute the main resources for coastal communities.  Some areas of dry forest are managed for sustainable wood production, which is compatible with biodiversity conservation.

In 2012 the Operation Wallacea teams will be completing a series of sample routes, covering the main protected forest areas and adjacent habitats.  Data will be gathered on forest structure and communities of key taxonomic groups including birds, herpetofauna, small mammals such as tenrecs, rodents and bats, and lemurs.  The output from this work will be used in a report submitted to the Madagascar government and will provide a baseline against which changes can be assessed in future years. The data will also be used to develop a Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance report that can then be used by the Madagascar government to support an application under the REDD scheme to provide long term funding for this area.