Madagascar Rain Forests Map

Overveiw

The Rainforests of Madagascar, or lowland forests, are located along the island's eatern coast. Spanning approximately 112,600 square kilometres, the forests extend from Marojejy National Park to the southeatern corner of Madagascar. The forests are home to an abundance of plants and animals, including 25 species of mammals, 165 species of birds, 50 species of reptiles, 29 species of amfibians, and over 100 species of freshwater fish. This made the Rainfoests of Madagascar of the most diverse region in the country. 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/09/madagascar/madagascar-map

Historical State

       Some 150 million years ago, Madagascar split from Africa and became an isolated island containing heaps of diverse and endemic plant and animal species. With the discovery by humans about 2000 years ago, Madagascar has seen an extreme hit in all aspects of life. Forest covered most of the island at one point, with almost the entire east side containing tropical rainforests. It is thought that around 90% of the islands forest has been forgotten. In the 1600’s, irrigated paddy fields were grown in the central highlands, transforming this ecosystem from forest to grassland. French Colonization in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries also had great affects on the land. France came to Madagascar to exploit the land for crops. Tons of land was cleared of forests and cultivated for coffee growth. Soil erosion from these leveled areas increased the destruction of forests and sucked nutrients from the land. As a result, species living in this biodiverse hotspot were greatly affected and destroyed. Still today much of the deforested areas are due to agriculture.

http://mongabay.s3.amazonaws.com/madagascar/600/madagascar_1676.jpg

Suggestions

The Rain Forests of Madagascar, along with its ecosystems, are rapidly deminishing and in serious danger. As the population of Madagascar contiunues to grow, logging, slash and burn agriculture, and the hunting of wildlife with continue to damage the forests. In order to prevent this, stricter logging and hunting regulations need to be implemented and enforced. Although there are 13 National Parks and Reserves located in this region of Madagascar, more need to be created to provide the forests safety from hunters and loggers. These national parks can be used as a form of ecotourism in order to raise money that can be use to fund projects that will help save the rainforests. Another way to help raise awareness and money for the rainforests is to set up organizations and charities. Organizations such as the Lemur Conservation Foundation and World Wildlife Fund - Madagascar allow people to donate in order to maintain and ensure the well-being of forests in Madagascar. The development of more projects and organizations like these would further help the cause. A larger portion of the rainforests need to be protected by law in order to decrease the devastation to wildlife caused by farming methods such as tavy. In order to do this, specific farming areas need to be established. Also, the time between performing the slash and burn method needs to be regulated to prevent the exhaustion of soil.

Human Impact

Human Impact

Logging: A marjor part of the deforestation of the Madagascar Rainforests is due to legal and illegal illegal logging in the region. In 2009, 52,000 tons of wood was cut from over 100,000 trees in the rainforests.

Tavy: "Tavy", or slash and burn agriculture, is a process in which a parks cuts down an section of forest and uses the nutient-rich region to plant and grow crops. After the crops are harvested, the farmer leaves the area for many years until the forest grows back and then returns to start the process over again. Due to increases in population density, farmers are not waiting long enough between slash and burn cycles. The soil is becoming exhausted and the forest is suffering to regrow. It is estimated that 1-2% of Madagascars rainforests are destroyed each year as a result of tavy.

Hunting of Wildlife: Many native species of animals in Madagascar are hunted by people as a source of food, to keep or sell as pets, or to trade as source of income. Although lemurs have been protected since  1964, they are continued to be hunted today and eaten or sold as pets. Fishing regulations in Madagascar are loose and animals such as sharks, lobsters, and sea cucumbers are being caught and sold at unsastainable rates.

Madagascar Rain Forest Ecosystem (Deforestation)

http://madagascartropicalrainforest.blogspot.com/

Future Hope for Ecosystem

         As we advance in our world and understand the consequences of our decisions on the earth we see some light in helping control the destruction of land. In the past decade, Madagascar has seen a bit of hope for its deforestation problems. President Mark Ravalomanana worked with international conservation organizations and local groups to designate areas to be protected. 10% of the country was set aside as national parks and time was spent in aiding the thriving ecotourism business, this slowed deforestation and helped maintain some of Madagascar’s one of a kind biodiversity. Ecotourism helped integrate the local people of Madagascar to partner with conservation rather then have them being against it. Madagascar quickly became a model for a conservation practices in a short period. Unfortunately President Ravalomanana was forced out of office recently, undermining many of his conservation efforts. Corrupt gangs flooded the national parks and exploited these areas for resources, destroying the preserved land, also frightening away tourists who provide money for conservation. We can only hope that with the reemergence of political stability, leaders will reinitiate conservation and aid in the control of this treasured island filled with plenty of diversity.

              1) http://www.grida.no/photolib/thumbs/0c67cdc9-0590-459e-a428-1a1a34e811c3/medium/verreauxs-sifaka-propithecus-verreauxi-isalo-national-park-madagascar_6217.jpg
                         2)http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/images/logo-type.gif

Conclusion

The Tropical Rain Forests of Madagascar are a unique and beautiful place. Unfortunately with the continued plague of deforestation, these areas are in severe danger of being greatly destroyed. It is going to take intentional work from the government by creating National Parks and implementing ecotourism as well as getting help from people all around the world to aid in the awareness and conservation of this biodiverse hot spot.