We currently have one project in operation in Madagascar:Protecting Madagascar's Northeastern Forests.

Protecting Madagascar's Northeastern Forests

Located off the east coast of Africa, Madagascar has been isolated from other landmasses for more than 160 million years. Consequently, most of Madagascar's plant and animal species have evolved in long isolation, and many are found nowhere else on the planet. Highly threatened, Madagascar has been classified as one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots. Covering just 2.3 percent of the planet's surface, hotspots face extreme threats and have already lost 70 percent of their original vegetation.

The Makira Forest Project, managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), is located in the northeastern region of Madagascar known as the Maroantesetra region. Consisting of about 350,000 hectares (approximately 1,350 square miles), this area is one of the largest remaining patches of rain forest on the island. Within the forest, the level of species diversity is among the highest in the country including a number of critically endangered animals such as the Madagascar serpent eagle and at least two species of Malagasy lemurs including the Red Ruffed Lemur and the Silky Sifaka which are found only in Madagascar.

Challenge

Decades of deforestation have left eastern Madagascar with only 8.5 percent of its forests. The Makira Forest represents the largest remaining contiguous forest in eastern Madagascar and is of utmost importance for long-term conservation especially in light of global climate changes. Makira is currently occupied by local ethnic and community groups that practice slash- and-burn agriculture on existing forest when they have outgrown the use of the lowlands for rice patties and seek new rice fields up river. Poaching for valuable hardwood species is also prevalent.

Response

Makira has been recognized as a primary region for biodiversity conservation and retention of ecosystem services. STI's implementation partners at Conservation International (CI) have partnered with WCS and Madagascar's Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests (MEEF) to develop carbon-financing options to enance the protection of this contiguous lowland and mid-altitude rain forest.

The Makira Forest Project seeks to become a leading catalyst for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. The proposed approach developed by WCS, CI and the Malagasy Government includes: 1) The study and creation of a new legally protected Conservation or Protected Area (known as a Site de Conservation) that encompasses habitat and species diversity representative of the Makira Area and guarantees long-term connectivity to other networks of protected forests, and 2) The stabilization of land-use through land-use planning activities development of a multiple use area with biodiversity being only one element of the management strategy.

Value for the Environment

The Makira Forest Project aims to achieve the related goals of conservation, economic development and carbon sequestration. The project will work to reduce deforestation rates down to 0.07 percent, or the rate found in nearby national parks. An independent assessment by Winrock International indicates that 9.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be mitigated over the next 30 years through these forest protection activities.

Healthy, intact forests store carbon taken from the atmosphere and thus play a unique role in mitigating the harmful effects of climate change. Global deforestation accounts for approximately 20 percent of the annual emissions of greenhouse gases, so reducing this source of emissions while protecting biodiversity provides a unique opportunity for governments and policy makers.

Value for Local Communities

The largest benefit for the local community from this project will be empowerment to control and manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner. Specific activities that will directly reduce deforestation include training on permaculture practices that allow farmers to continually produce good harvests from the same land as opposed to cutting new fields every few years. Other projects include building improved irrigation infrastructure for the lowland rice growing areas. Additional income generation will occur through employment from the project and from ecotourism.

The project has also been empowering local communities the transfer of natural resource management rights from the government. This in turn allows the communities themselves to mange their forests and makes them responsible for enforcing forest-use rules. An active dialogue will be maintained with local stakeholders to help ensure protected area limits are proposed and accepted by local and regional authorities.

Value for Business

With growing public concern for global warming, many leadership companies are taking a proactive stance regarding their emissions. This creates an opportunity for investors in the Makira Forest Project to market the positive biodiversity and economic development impacts together with its carbon benefits.

While under current Kyoto rules, this type of emissions avoidance is not yet creditable, companies currently participating in these voluntary markets will help shape the future regulation to encompass these multiple benefit approaches. Additionally, companies are able to communicate positive action to address climate change with concerned consumers, shareholders, and employees through clear, tangible commitments that reduce their greenhouse gas impacts in a cost efficient manner.