Month: May 2022

The number of forest fires in Madagascar reaches a peak during the dry season. How do protected area managers cope with this threat? In 2021, the deforestation rate in FAPBM-funded protected areas was 0.68% compared to 1.4% for other protected areas. But FAPBM aims to lower this rate even further. Thus, with a view to sharing experiences and best practices to deal with this scourge, FAPBM is organizing a webinar on the theme “Fire management in protected areas” on Friday, June 10, starting at 10:00 a.m. This webinar is the first of the “FAPBM Webinars”. The FAPBM Webinars will aim to share experiences between PA managers funded by FAPBM, but also with all the managers of  protected areas in Madagascar as well as all the stakeholders. The speakers for this first webinar will be Mr. Harinaina Léon Razafindralaisa,  Madagascar National Parks’ Director of Operations, Mr. Brice Funk Lee Rakotozafy, Head …

A FAPBM team  has attended  a workshop to assess the effectiveness of the management of the 5 Boeny protected areas beneficiaries of the GEF6 Conservation International project “Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the North-Western landscape of Madagascar, Boeny Region”, namely Ankarafantsika National Park, the New Protected Areas of Antrema, Bay of Baly, Mahavavy-Kinkony Complex and Bombetoka. Bringing together all the stakeholders of the project, the workshop took place from May 17 to 18 in Majunga (Northern Madagascar). The reason for FAPBM’s presence at this evaluation workshop is that the GEF6-CI project contributed USD 4.5 million to the Foundation’s capital in 2020 to ensure continuity of funding. Currently, only Bombetoka protected area is not yet a beneficiary of FAPBM annual grants. This will be the case as of 2023. Thus, starting in 2023, funding to the 5 protected areas in the Boeny Region will increase significantly thanks to the …

Courtesy visit to the Minister of Environment Mrs. Marie-Orléa Vina, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, received a delegation of FAPBM on April 28. This meeting reinforces the collaboration between the 2  institutions in favor of the sustainable funding of the Madagascar’s Protected Areas System (SAPM). Mrs. Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, the FAPBM President of the Board, expressed her wish that FAPBM be integrated as much as possible in the major projects funded by international initiatives such as GEF or GCF. FAPBM can be the financial mechanism for funding projects dedicated to protected areas, as is the case for GEF6 WWF project for the marine protected areas. FAPBM can also be the beneficiary of a capital endowment in order to ensure the financial relay at the end of the projects. The capital endowments from the French Development Agency (AFD) and KfW were mentioned as examples. Courtesy visit to the Chargé d’Affaires of …

On the occasion of the celebration of the International Biodiversity Day on May 22, 2022, FAPBM supported the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development-MEDD’s awareness-raising actions through the production of a special program on E-SEE Magazine on the national TV channel TVM. At the same time, FAPBM launched a digital campaign “One day, one protected area” to promote the protected areas it supports. The theme chosen for 2022, “Building a common future for all forms of life”, is in line with the momentum generated by the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, which reminds us of how biodiversity is the answer to several sustainable development challenges. The slogan conveys the message that nature-based solutions for climate, health, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods are the foundation on which we can better build back. The full program (in Malagasy) is available here: https://www.facebook.com/televizionamalagasy/videos/1003207773897744. …

The Index of Biological Integrity or IBI of all FAPBM-funded PAs increased from 2.52 to 2.59 in 2021 (on a scale of 1 to 5). This improvement is the result of a decrease in the level of threats in the protected areas and conservation actions by the managers. In the MNP network, a patrol reform was initiated in 2020: Instead of counting the number of squares visited during patrol missions, the monitoring effort focused on pressure areas, with the number monitored as the achievement indicator. Previously, in 2019, the patrol achievement indicator was the number of squares visited (a square being 250mx250m) in the protected area. Since 2020, this indicator has become the number of targets monitored. The system is simple: the targets are the areas under pressure and threats. As soon as a fire or logging activity or other types of pressures in the protected area is announced by …

FAPBM, as a member of the Alamino Board, responded to the officialization by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), on March 26, 2022, of the 10 principles of effective reforestation. This practical guide book was designed jointly with the Alamino Initiative which is a thing thank aiming to “regreen” Madagascar, and with the support of INDRI (Initiative for Development, Ecological Restoration and Innovation). FAPBM was represented by Evah Ralalarisoa (Internal Control Officer) and Elysabeth Razanamiarana (Consultant in charge of GEF6-Marine Protected Area). Thanks to these 10 principles, FAPBM will better focus its interventions in the protected areas in terms of reforestation and the deforestation control, both in terms of activities to be funded in the annual plan and the evaluation of outcomes and impacts of the actions funded. Here are the 10 principles: 1- A long-term commitment 2- A landscape approach 3- Taking into account local interests 4- …

In Ibity, located 170 km south of the capital, the endemic biodiversity of the savannah, such as Aloe, Pachypodium, Hypochoeris, Cynorkis (orchid), critically endangered (CR) according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is threatened by the spreading phenomenon of invasive plants.  Weeds and pine seedlings contribute to endanger these endemic species. Some are proliferating thanks to fertile soil, others under the action of the wind. Misssouri Botanical Garden (MBG), the manager of the protected area, has opted for a rather disruptive method to fight invasive plants: fire. To better understand the approach, let’s consider this background information on fire: Fires often come from human sources, but they may also occur naturally. In Ibity, strikes of lightning ignite bush fires naturally during the rainy seasons (about 5 times a year); Fires contribute to the germination of certain seeds. The principle of slash-and-burn and fires for grazing …

At the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille (September 2021), the Agence Française pour le Développement (AFD) and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) took stock of their contribution to eight Biodiversity Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) in Africa and South America. The study’s findings have positioned FAPBM as a sustainable financing mechanism for biodiversity that can complement existing government support and tourism resources independently on local conditions. The end of April 2022 meetings with the AFD and the French Embassy in Madagascar review the collaborations between the institutions. Meeting with the French Ambassador FAPBM was granted an audience with H.E. Christophe Bouchard, French Ambassador, on April 28, 2022. The delegation was composed of Mr. Fredy Rajaonera Andriambelo, member of the Executive Committee, and Mr. Alain Liva Raharijaona, Director. France, through a Debt Reduction-Development Contract and AFD capital endowment, amounting to a total of EUR 23 million, is today the …