Wetland conservation in Madagascar

R Safford The Bemamba wetland complex IBA is one of the richest wetlands in western Madagascar. Zoom In

The rich and extraordinary biodiversity that is concentrated in Madagascar has been celebrated for centuries, while the high level of threat to this biodiversity is also universally agreed. Madagascar is now among the world's highest priority regions for conservation effort.

BirdLife has been working in Madagascar since 1997, and much of this work has been guided by BirdLife’s BirdLife’s Important Bird Areas (IBA) programme. Madagascar’s IBA directory was completed in late 1999 with the publication of the book Zones d'Importance pour la Conservation des Oiseaux à Madagascar, later summarised as a chapter in Important Bird Areas in Africa and associated islands. (For more on IBAs in Africa: click here)

Wetlands conservation is among the highest priorities identified by this IBA analysis and other research, such as the annually updated IUCN Red List. Nine of the thirteen Endangered or Critically Endangered birds, and the only recently extinct species (Alaotra Grebe Tachybaptus rufolavatus), in Madagascar are wetland species.

The BirdLife programme of wetland site conservation work in Madagascar began in 2002. It was launched by the BirdLife International Madagascar Programme in collaboration with local and national partners including the Direction Générale des Eaux et Forêts and the Association Nationale de Gestion des Aires Protégées (now Madagascar National Parks). In 2008 the programme was taken over by Asity Madagascar, a national NGO which had been collaborating with BirdLife for many years, and also became the BirdLife Affiliate in Madagascar, with the BirdLife Secretariat providing assistance where necessary. The BirdLife International Madagascar Programme closed at that point; much further progress has been made since 2008 and is described on Asity Madagascar’s website (visit http://asitymadagascar.org). This page summarises the work done up to that time.

The wetlands of western Madagascar

Madagascar has extensive wetlands, yet lacks vast networks like the lakes of east Africa. For bird conservation purposes, Malagasy wetlands have been divided into two Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs): western and eastern, corresponding to the dry, low-lying western region; and the humid, mountainous east.

The West Malagasy Wetlands EBA is a 26,000 square km complex of lakes, rivers, marshes, deltas, rocky shorelines and mangroves. It is the unique habitat of six threatened species: one Critically Endangered (Madagascar Fish Eagle), four Endangered (Madagascar Heron, Madagascar Sacred Ibis, Madagascar Teal, Sakalava Rail) and one Vulnerable (Madagascar Plover); these occur alongside four other threatened species that are also found in the East. This wetland serves also an important habitat for migratory waterbird species. 

Wetlands have long been important to the Malagasy people for fishing, hunting and agriculture. However, under the changing circumstances of recent decades, resource use has changed, becoming more intensive and less discerning, to a degree that seriously threatens native biodiversity. The most grave and widespread threats are: conversion of wetland habitat to intensive rice production or drainage for upland crops; hunting of birds, particularly at nesting and moulting sites; and overfishing, particularly using fine-mesh nets, affecting birds and turtles as well as endemic fish. Invasive alien species, especially plants and fish, have also become abundant locally, altering the character and species composition of many wetlands, as well as contributing to extinctions of some endemic fish.

Marc Rabenandrasana/BirdLife Sakalava Rail is severely threatened by the widespread and rapid degradation and destruction of wetlands in Madagascar. Zoom In

Wetlands and their conservation in Madagascar

BirdLife's priority sites in the West Malagasy Wetlands EBA are both large complexes of wetlands, each exceeding 1,000 square km. Both comprise the delta of a major river, the lower reaches of the river and associated freshwater marshes, and many associated lakes.

The Mahavavy Delta wetlands IBA includes the largest lake in the region, Lake Kinkony. The Lake Ihotry Hunting Reserve - Mangoky Delta complex IBA is at the foot of Madagascar's largest catchment. The two sites are now usually referred to as the Mahavavy-Kinkony and Mangoky-Ihotry complexes, respectively, recognising that among the wetlands are also important and biologically spectacular areas of dryland forest and caves.

All of the threatened wetland species listed above have been recorded at one or both of the sites. Uniquely, the Mahavavy-Kinkony complex holds them all, including the very rare and almost unknown Sakalava Rail, found at Lake Kinkony in 2003 (see photo, right). Counts of up to 285 Madagascar Teal, the most ever recorded at one site, have also been made there. Apart from the birds, the endemic and threatened Malagasy aquatic turtle Erymnochelys madagascariensis occurs on lakes at both sites.

Western Malagasy wetlands are centres of productivity in a largely unproductive land. This makes them vital for local people to safeguard. Wetland users have made clear their determination to manage their wetlands sustainably and to conserve their biodiversity. But they need help to be allowed access to opportunities to do this, which Asity Madagascar is providing.

This local demand has been greatly strengthened by the Madagascar government’s initiative to treble the area of natural ecosystems that are protected in a way that also makes their benefits sustainable and available to local people. This initiative has become an integral part of the country's development.

Marc Rabenandrasana/BirdLife Wetlands are an important resource for the Malagasy people. Zoom In | Hi-Res

Involving local people in wetland conservation

The first step towards conserving the sites was to build a consensus among the many organisations and local people concerned, regarding the need for controlled management of the wetlands so that their benefits – local, national and global – could be maintained. Under Malagasy law, local communities can acquire rights to control management of resources through a series of steps, of which the creation and strengthening of local associations is crucial.

Management agreements that integrate scientifically-based and traditional resource management and protection systems were then facilitated and are monitored by the government's local technical services, working alongside other organisations, including Asity Madagascar acting as facilitator and technical supporter.

Under the programme, associations (whose goals include biodiversity conservation) have been established at both sites. Helping communities to exercise their rights through these associations is proving to be a very successful and economical conservation measure.

While small-scale resource-use is the main livelihood activity for communities dependent on the wetlands, there are other users, such as agribusiness, aquaculture (including shrimp farms), and ecotourism.

At each site, BirdLife and Asity Madagascar have helped to establish a legally recognised 'umbrella' body which, supported by central government, will eventually take responsibility for site management. This management body is composed of all interested organisations, including the associations, private sector, local government and traditional leaders. It is similar to the large Local Conservation Group or Network programmes that run in other BirdLife countries and territories. For more information see 'Site Support Groups' in Africa.

New protected areas

To strengthen the new management system, the Mahavavy-Kinkony and Mangoky-Ihotry complexes are also in the process of becoming new Protected Areas, each overseen by its management body. These bodies will follow the overriding principles of the new protected areas initiative, making benefits sustainable and focusing on community participation, rather than working through strict exclusion policies which would be neither feasible nor ethical in ecosystems of such great socio-economic importance. With technical support from Asity Madagascar, they also participate actively on the establishment of the new Protected Area and take part in all activities conducted at the site, such as education and awareness-raising, public consultation and management plan development.

Major steps were taken in 2007 and 2008, with the signature of interministerial decrees on the temporary protection of 268,000 ha of the Mahavavy-Kinkony complex (see Madagascar protects wetlands crucial for people and birds, 21 January 2007) and 213,661 ha of the Mangoky-Ihotry complex. Such decrees give an initial level of legal protection while safeguarding local uses: objectives are set; preliminary boundaries, zoning plans and the management body are defined; and activities permitted or banned. The next steps in the creation of permanent protected areas are in the hands of Asity Madagascar, and are reported on their website. Management structures have been agreed and set up, composed of Asity Madagascar, the management body and a Board (for strategic orientation).

Thanks to these activities, the extent and condition of the wetlands and the populations of threatened species at the two sites appear to have been largely maintained since 1998, when BirdLife teams first visited the region. There is much more to do to put management and conservation on to a sustainable footing, but thanks to the general consensus on the importance of wetland conservation in Madagascar (which itself has changed greatly over the past ten years), there is every chance that the biodiversity and other wonders of these wetlands can be conserved for the foreseeable future.

For more information contact:
For further information, see Asity Madagascar or contact Asity Madagascar directly: zicoma@birdlife-mada.org