Madagascar's Forest is protected for Humans and Unique Wildlife
10/15/97
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Headline: Madagascar's Forest is protected for Humans and Unique
Wildlife
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
Date: 10/15/97
CONTACT:
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY, NEW YORK:
STEPHEN SAUTNER: 718-220-5197, ssautner@wcs.org
CARE, NAIROBI:
WENDY DRISCOLL: 254-2-716724, wendy_care@form-net.com
THE PEREGRINE FUND, BOISE, IDAHO
JEFF CILEK: 208-362-3716, jcilek@peregrinefund.org
In Madagascar, Park For People Is Born
Island's last great forest protected for humans and unique
wildlife
Madagascar's largest remaining rainforest containing animals
found nowhere else on earth will be preserved, thanks to an
historic compromise that blends the two competing pressures faced
by poor countries worldwide: conserving natural resources versus
human development. The park will be signed into law by the
island-republic's new president, Didier Ratsiraka. A formal
inauguration ceremony will take place on Sat., Oct. 18, the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), CARE International and The
Peregrine Fund announced today.
Called Masoala National Park, the protected area spans 840 square
miles across the Masoala Peninsula in northeastern Madagascar, and
includes not only tropical forests, but an extensive coral reef and a
newly discovered whale breeding ground that runs along the coastline.
Animals such as the red-ruffed lemur, Madagascar red owl, and
extremely rare serpent eagle, cling to Masoala's unique ecosystems,
along with 22 other mammal species. The region also supports one of
the highest diversity of palm species in the world.
Until recently, the Masoala Peninsula was threatened by encroachment
both by the local communities that depend on the region for
agricultural land and firewood, along with international logging
companies. In response, a unique consortium consisting of the Malagasy
parks board (ANGAP) and Wildlife Department (DEF), along with CARE
International, WCS and The Peregrine Fund stepped in to find solutions
to the environmental and economic challenges Masoala presented.
and economic challenges Masoala presented.
"The approval of the new legislation culminates five years of work by
the consortium and represents a huge commitment by the Madagascar
government, done against all odds," said Lisa Dean, CARE Madagascar
Country Director. "Masoala is their last remaining exploitable
hardwood forest and yet they are instead choosing to preserve it. That
is extraordinary."
WCS and The Peregrine Fund teamed with Stanford University to
delineate park boundaries using the unique combination of remote
sensing, geographic information systems, and on-the-ground surveys of
butterflies, mammals, birds, vegetation and human land use. Park
boundaries were drawn to assure protection of serpent eagles and red-
ruffed lemurs, and 22 rare butterfly species that signal the great
habitat diversity present on the peninsula.
The resulting park blends a strict national park status with the needs
of both wildlife and the 40,000 people that share the peninsula. This
will include a land-use system that will permit some agriculture and
timber harvesting. Local communities will also benefit from a tourist
revenue-sharing program that will pump funds into other development
programs. According to WCS, park residents have learned that
conserving the park's resources brings direct benefits to themselves
and the region's wildlife.
"This is one of the first times in history that a national park has
been designated scientifically, taking into account biodiversity,
economics and social concerns," said Claire Kremen, a WCS scientist
who led the research team that designed the new park. "Madagascar can
be proud of this model accomplishment, which is a great victory of
both biodiversity and humanity."
"The rediscovery of the Madagascar serpent eagle and red owl, once
thought extinct, by Russel Thorstrom on Masoala Peninsula was
incredibly exciting for us, so it is very satisfying to also be part
of a team that is helping conserve these species' threatened habitat,"
said Dr. Rick Watson, program director for Africa and Madagascar for
The Peregrine Fund.
USAID backed the project until last year, when the Dutch government
took over funding. However, U.S. support, particularly from the
Ambassador to Madagascar, remains indispensable, along with the
support of numerous foundations.
Madagascar's conservation worries are not over, however. Foreign
logging companies continue to express interest in exploiting the
buffer zone just outside of the park. Without sustainable and
responsible management, such logging might disastorously effect the
internal ecosystem of Masoala National Park, as well as devastate the
resources set aside specifically for long-term use by local
inhabitants.