Eden Forrestration Projects Madagaskar

Start & End Date: 2007-Ongoing

Country/Countries: Madagascar

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: 500+ donors

Madagascar is one of the world’s top biodiversity conservation priorities because of its endemic species and severe habitat loss rates. Reforestation in Madagascar is important because the destruction of the mangrove estuaries along the coastline has caused mudflats to wash into the ocean, destroying once-productive fisheries and increasing the vulnerability of coastal communities to hurricanes, tsunamis, and floods. In the dry deciduous forests, deforestation threatens one of the world’s rarest and most diverse forest systems.

In response to the large-scale loss of mangroves in Madagascar, the project began restoring mangrove estuaries in Mahajanga in 2007. It worked with the local community to clear the estuary of dead trees, collect a variety of native propagule species, and plant trees during the low tide. In the coastal regions of Northwest Madagascar, the projects supports mangrove reforestation providing stability against erosion and improving ocean health. Currently, over two million mangroves are planted per month. In the inlands of Northwest Madagascar, the project supports the reforestation of dry deciduous projects devastated by slash and burn practices to protect against erosion and flooding as well as to restore and expand vital animal habitat. In the Ankarafantsika National Park, a tropical dry deciduous forest is protected which is home to eight species of endangered lemurs and 70% of the 820 species of plants endemic to Madagascar.

With 93 project sites, Madagascar is our most prolific reforestation and poverty alleviation project nation. The project has extensive infrastructure such as guardhouses, fire towers, and seed banks. It also developed a training center for local nursery managers to gain hands-on experience in seedling management and effective reforestation techniques. Overall, 776 million trees have been produced, planted, and protected and over 11,700 employees empowered with fair wages.