![]()
WWF's Approved Projects
|
WWF in Madagascar The fourth largest island in the world, Madagascar has a rich biological heritage. It is home to several one-of-a-kind species. Eighty-five per cent of the island's vegetation can be found only in Madagascar, and much of it is extremely valuable. The rosy periwinkle, for example, provides an essential pharmaceutical compound that is used to treat childhood leukaemia. Other local plants with unusual characteristics include naturally decaffeinated coffee and termite-resistant trees. Thousands of unusual butterflies and moths live in Madagascar along with about 50 per cent of the world's chameleon species. What makes this island reserve so unique is that 98 per cent of its reptiles and 50 per cent of its birds and bats are found nowhere else in the world. While Madagascar is a storehouse of nature's riches, it is also a victim of severe environmental degradation. Its biodiversity is threatened by deforestation (agricultural encroachment, fuelwood, and building materials), burning (forest clearing for agriculture and grazing), and over-exploitation of wildlife resources. The problem is compounded by lack of adequate conservation measures. Most protected areas lack properly trained and equipped personnel, and remain vulnerable to slash and burn cultivation, poaching of wood, plants and animals, and shifting agricultural encroachment. WWF has identified Madagascar as one of its focal areas of work. It has been active in protecting the country's unique and fragile ecosystems since 1962. According to WWF's Director of Field Programmes, Dr Peter Kramer: "Madagascar is one of our most important programme areas. We are working hand-in-hand with Malagasy conservationists to preserve this island's rich biological diversity." The WWF Representation was officially accredited by the government in 1979. In 1986, it helped the government and the World Bank draft an Action Plan for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in Madagascar. Priority areas were identified for protection and conservation. The cornerstone of WWF's programme in Madagascar is integrating conservation with rural development. WWF has worked with the Ministry of Education to conduct week-long environmental education workshops for over 20,000 primary school teachers. In 1989, it signed the first debt-for-nature swap in Africa with the government of Madagascar. The money is being used to train Nature Protection Agents to raise environmental awareness among the public and to encourage people to use their natural resources sustainably. A conservation pay off: four medicinal plants, discovered during an ethnobotanical training project, promise to provide new pharmaceuticals and new chemical structures. These plants, which were unknown to western scientists, have been used by local herbalists for centuries and are now being tested by Malagasy pharmacological companies. WWF has done considerable work in protecting certain rare or endangered animals. It has been involved in protecting the famous Malagasy lemurs which are found nowhere else in the world. The rare and threatened Madagascar pochard (Aythya innotata) was rediscovered in 1991, thanks to a WWF-funded project. The world's rarest tortoise, the ploughshare or "angonoka" tortoise (Geochelone yniphora), has also received a new lease of life due to WWF's efforts. This tortoise is virtually extinct; only an estimated 300 of them remain in the wild, all in Madagascar. WWF's captive breeding programme is ensuring the angonoka's survival. The project was started in March 1986; since then, the number of baby tortoises born has increased each year -- 32 hatched in November 1991. Once fully grown, the tortoises will be reintroduced to the wild.
|
Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature