Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stark,
windswept
cape, Mada-
gascar's
southernmost
point
Radiated tor-
toise, spider
tortoise,
whales off-
shore
Hiking, camp-
ing, searching
for elephant
bird eggshells
Réserve Spéciale
de Cap Sainte
Marie
May-
Oct
The funding will cover the management costs of MNP and will help pursue Mada-
gascar's commitment to extend its protected surface area. The next national park to be
gazetted should be the Makira Forest, an area adjacent to Masoala Peninsula and the
Baie d'Antongil, which, together, form an important biodiversity hot spot nicknamed the
MaMaBay Land/Seascape.
UNESCO HERITAGE SITE IN DANGER
In 2007, Unesco declared the eastern-seaboard Rainforests of the Atsinanana a
World Heritage Site. The site includes six rainforest national parks: Parc Nation-
al de Marojejy, Parc National de Masoala, Parc National de Zahamena, Parc Na-
tional de Ranomafana, Parc National d'Andringitra and Parc National
d'Andohahela. Unesco acknowledged the importance of these forests in main-
taining Madagascar's high levels of biodiversity.
But in July 2010, the World Heritage committee decided to move the Rain-
forests of the Atsinanana to its List of World Heritage in Danger because of il-
legal logging and hunting of endangered species on site. The committee noted
that 'despite a decree outlawing the exploitation and export of rosewood and
ebony, Madagascar continues to provide export permits for illegally logged tim-
ber'.
Unesco urged Madagascar to respect the legislation, but as of 2012, there was
no sign that the rainforests of Atsinanana would be moved off the red list any
time soon.
Sustainable Conservation
Enlightened conservationists know that for conservation programmes to succeed in poor
developing nations, local people must be involved.
From the beginning, the needs of the people living in and around the parks were incor-
porated into park management plans, and 50% of park admission fees are returned to local
communities. This money is used to build wells, buy vegetable seeds, help with tree nurs-
