Madagascar: Protecting Lemurs And Reforesting Mangroves
The work taking place in Madagascar is some of the most urgent, due to its drastic endemic species and habitat loss rates, and the fact that 90% of its primary forests have been deforested, affecting those living in extreme poverty the most.
Ankarafantsika National Park is a national park near Andranofasika in the Boeny Region of Madagascar. The park is a refuge for lemurs and endemic birds: it is home to eight species of endangered lemurs, including the famous Microcebus (the golden-brown mouse lemur), which is the smallest primate in the world, and 129 species of birds (75 of which are endemic to Madagascar!) Forest loss, caused by deforestation for agriculture, logging, and natural fires (the most recent causing huge devastation across the park as recently as October 2021), in the park is threatening this rare wildlife with possible extinction.
The massive tree-planting efforts taking place in Ankarafantsika give these special animals a chance to survive, while providing local communities with hands-on experience in effective reforestation techniques, which will help to restore and protect the land they rely on for their livelihoods.
The mangrove reforestation projects we support in Northwest Madagascar are proving to be the most fruitful of the many projects we get behind. As you know, we’re huge fans of mangrove trees for their amazing ability to remove harmful carbon from the air and across Madagascar this project is planting nearly two million of these trees every single month. Your support to plant these trees slows down the effects of climate change, giving us hope for a climate positive future. It also allows for protection against erosion and the improvement of ocean health in coastal areas of Madagascar, while restoring and expanding vital animal habitat and alleviating poverty across the nation.
In a nutshell, this project is:
Working with communities to teach effective reforesting techniques
Alleviating poverty by providing jobs and restoring land used for crops across the country
Protecting endangered species against extinction
Restoring healthy aquatic ecosystems
Reforesting mangrove trees on a huge scale