Restoration initiatives of degraded humid forests in the World Heritage site "Rainforests of the Atsinanana"
Atsinanana, Madagascar
Objectives
In collaboration with local communities, the project aims to assess the state of degradation and start restoration activities in three national parks that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Rainforests of the Atsinanana”, one of the most important and representative habitats of Madagascar humid forests with exceptional levels of biodiversity. These rainforests are currently placed in the World Heritage in Danger list, and projected restoration activities respond to the correctives measures requested by the World Heritage Center in its decision to list the site as ‘in danger’.
A preliminary study will be conducted to map priority areas of natural habitat loss through a baseline assessment of degradation. Local communities will be trained to participate in defined restoration interventions and pilot natural regeneration interventions will be carried out through actions recommended by the preliminary study in 3 national parks of the World Heritage Site.
Empowering local communities and demonstrating how they can benefit from restoration interventions will ensure the project’s sustainability. The efficiency of restoration can be improved by identifying interventions that maximize impact of and minimize costs in different contexts. The project will report on the success of pilot activities, with conclusions on the benefits to local communities and recommendations for the future planning of restoration activities in the World Heritage site and beyond. The project is expected to take place over 24 months, from April 2018 to April 2020.
Download the progress report from November 2020.
Implementing partner
This project is carried out by Madagascar National Parks (MNP).
