Climate Change

With an area of more than one million hectares, MaMaBay’s forestscurrently represent one of Madagascar’s largest remaining tracts of intacthumid eastern forest and provide shelters for an important part of thecountry’s biodiversity.  However,deforestation remains one of MaMaBay’s major environmental issues. Tacklingforest loss in the MaMaBay landscape is an important contribution to helpstabilize greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sequestration and avoid theworst effects of climate change.  Incollaboration with the Government of Madagascar, WCS has developed the MakiraForest Project leading to the establishment one of the country’s largestprotected areas, the Makira Natural Park. The Makira project has been piloting REDD (Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and forest Degradation) carbon financing since 2005 and in 2012was the first REDD pilot project in Madagascar to be certified by both VCS andCCBA. 

In addition to the forests, conservation of the large coverage of coral reefsin the Antongil Bay seascape will also greatly contribute to the reduction ofgreenhouse gas emissions.  In fact, tomitigate the impact of climate change and to build marine ecosystem resiliencyin the Antongil Bay seascape, an effective Integrated Coastal Zone Managementprocess has been implemented to manage and protect the marine and coastalcritical habitat.  A long term ClimateChange impact monitoring is developed for the network of MPAs in the AntongilBay.