The MaMaBay land/seascape is Madagascar’s last great wilderness and the epicenter of the island’s unique biodiversity. Located in the northeastern region of Madagascar it comprises the Masoala National Park --a World Heritage Site, the Makira Natural Park, and the Antongil Bay. MaMaBay’s abundant and diverse flora and fauna is thriving in contiguous and effectively protected forests, mangroves, and coral reefs, buffered and connected by community areas that support sustainable forestry, agriculture, and fisheries.
The forests in the MaMaBay landscape shelter many threatened and rare species such as plants (Asteropeia sp, Intsia bijuga, Nepenthes masoalensis, Mimusops sp, Calophyllum laxiflorum), birds (Madagascar red owls, serpent eagles) and frogs (tomato frog). More than 22 lemur species –primates endemic to Madagascar, are found here, and an important population of Madagascar’s unique cat-like carnivore, the fosa. More than twenty rare species of palm are present in a very limited spatial distribution within the lowland rainforest. Three flagship species, Voanioala gerardii, Lemurophoenix halleuxii and Marojeya darianii have been selected as conservation targets for the MaMaBay Landscape Management. The ecological integrity of the forest block within the MaMaBay landscape is provided by eight forest corridors which include the three forest corridors of the Masoala National Park and five in the Makira Natural Park.
The Antongil Bay seascape thrives of fish, turtles, dolphins and critically endangered dugongs, and serves as one of the most important breeding, calving and nursery areas for Western Indian Ocean humpback whales. The species endemism and diversity of the watershed are amongst the highest in Madagascar, and the essential ecosystem services support over a quarter of a million subsistence farmers and fishers.
WCS and its partners are striving to realize an ambitious vision for the conservation of this last great wilderness. Given the multiple issues that prevail in the area, a holistic and multi-sectoral approach is required. To achieve the ultimate goal of conserving biodiversity and securing the livelihoods of the people in MaMaBay, WCS will continue to focus on the conservation of core protected areas and sustainable resource use within the surrounding habitats.
Conservation Challenges
The MaMaBay Land/Seascape faces many challenges – growing demand for agricultural land, intensive bushmeat hunting, unchecked and unsustainable fishing, and expanding oil and gas industries. The most ubiquitous and destructive threat is agricultural expansion – slash and burn – into the forests of Masoala and Makira. Limited land availability, increasing human populations, and poor farming practices threaten 3,700 acres of primary forest each year. The east coast of the Masoala Peninsula is particularly at risk, with tenuous livelihoods and weak development programs driving people to use their natural resources unsustainably. Forest loss also impacts Antongil Bay: increased sediment flows off the land and overwhelms fragile sea grasses and coral reefs, while coastal areas stripped of their protective forest edge are left more vulnerable to devastation by cyclones. Poverty and population growth drive unsustainable resource use, exacerbated by weak and short-sighted management. People raid MaMaBay’s forests to export precious hardwoods such as ebony and rosewood and to mine quartz and precious stones illegally. Others overharvest Antongil Bay for shrimp, sea cucumber, lobster, and reef fish. Industrial shrimp trawlers and local fisherman catch sea turtles, sharks, dugong, and dolphins. Bushmeat hunting threatens at least 21 forest mammal species, including lemurs, fosa, and even bats. New threats loom. Antontil Bay has been targeted for oil and gas exploration, potentially impacting humpback whale habitat. Changes in the Bay’s water temperature and current patterns – driven by climate change – threaten coral reefs, sea grass beds, and mangroves, and the human livelihoods that depend upon them.
Conservation Approach
WCS will ensure that: (i) Government and environmental institutions deliver biodiversity protection, improved livelihoods, and secure ecosystem services; (ii) local communities have the technical and governance capabilities to manage their terrestrial and marine resources; (iii) Government, partners, and residents of MaMaBay are effective stewards of the land/seascape; and (iv) the benefits of conservation are equitably shared amongst all stakeholders.
Activities
WCS’s activities are multi-faceted and cover both terrestrial and marine areas:
- Management of the Makira Natural Park in collaboration with local communities and implements a comprehensive field-based system of surveillance, law enforcement monitoring and ecological monitoring
- Long-term restoration and maintenance activities of critical forestry corridors with the support of different partners and the local population to ensure the ecological integrity of the MaMaBay forest block
- Support to the establishment and operation of a network of community-based natural resources management sites for the green belt of the Makira Natural Park and for LMMAs around Antongil Bay
- Support to communities to improve subsistence livelihoods (rice, fish farming and honey production) and to develop sustainable and certified cash crops through the promotion of conservation enterprises in raffia, ecotourism, cocoa, vanilla, and cloves
- Provision of technical support to Masoala National Park on SMART law enforcement monitoring, community engagement and community-based natural resource management
- Support to the development of a network of locally managed marine areas (LMMA) in Antongil Bay and provision of technical and financial assistance to communities to patrol their locally marine reserves and to carry out long-term ecological and fish productivity monitoring
- Implementation of an integrated health and conservation education program across the MaMaBay Landscape/Seascape that aims to empower local populations to build awareness, knowledge and skills to sustain a healthy environment and assure human well-being.