The Vohimana site (Moramanga District, Alaotra-Mangoro Region, Toamasina Province) is located within the mid-altitude evergreen forest zone of eastern Madagascar, between 700 and 1,000 metres in altitude. The area comprises a central block of natural forest, zones of more or less degraded forest, and agricultural land. It is thus representative of mixed areas hosting both human populations and forests still very rich in biodiversity.
The Vohimana forest hosts a high density of endemic butterfly, amphibian and primate species. It is also home to more than 130 medicinal and aromatic plants, none of which are currently commercially exploited by local populations.
Local populations, numbering just over a thousand people, live in isolated, remote hamlets, and almost all live below the poverty line.
The extreme poverty of these populations stands in stark contrast to the environment’s economic valorisation potential, which could help address deforestation issues (halting slash-and-burn practices) and reverse biodiversity loss trends.
It is therefore proposed to develop a biodiversity conservation strategy that enhances the value of natural resources as sustainably as possible, in order to motivate local populations to preserve natural forest cover.
The project’s overall objective is to help sustainably preserve biodiversity, by implementing an original approach involving both the private sector and local populations in environmentally beneficial income-generating activities, within a biodiversity-rich area outside any protected area.
Identifying plant species that can be sustainably produced by local populations, along with developing ecotourism, will generate immediate income for local populations. This will demonstrate the value of preserving renewable natural resource potential, while allowing time to develop new agricultural practices.
Private sector involvement, within the framework of a conservation-oriented management plan, should help not only realistically enhance the value of natural resources, but also ensure the long-term sustainability of development and biodiversity preservation efforts.
