Field Actions Science Reports (Oct 2009)
The Mikea Forest Under Threat (southwest Madagascar) : How public policy leads to conflicting territories
Abstract
With 10 million hectares, forest covers only 16% of the territory of Madagascar in 2005. Deforestation is attaining alarming proportions and is recognized as a major environmental problem. This process has recently accelerated, particularly in the southwest of the country. The main factor promoting deforestation is slash-and-burn maize cultivation. Pioneer agriculture is developing rapidly at the expense of the forest. Loss of forest is linked to several factors: demographic pressure caused by immigration, saturation of the most fertile lands, the relaxation of state regulations on forest clearing, and above all the role of maize cultivation associated with a booming export market. The maize fever causes irreversible destruction of the dry forest since the process of deforestation is followed by a process of savannization. Land clearing is a strategy for controlling resources and development of a territory. It was not until the late 1990s that environmental policies were designed to reduce the loss of forest cover and conserve the endemic flora and fauna of such a large area. The creation of the Mikea national park is currently underway. But the process has been slowed by an ilmenite mining project which poses a new threat to the forest. Furthermore, since 2008, an oil exploration licence has been granted in this area. The conflicting land uses of three government-sponsored projects destabilize local populations who have been encouraged by the state to preserve the forest.
