Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
eries, rebuild schools and build small dams to facilitate paddy, rather than hillside, rice cul-
tivation.
Tourism has also fostered employment opportunities in villages around major national
parks, with rangers, guides, porters and those working in guesthouses and restaurants all
benefiting.
About US$15 million of the US$52 million donated by the World Bank in June 2011
were specifically earmarked for community development, with the goal of building long-
term sustainability in the livelihood of the parks' communities. Activities will include
income-generating projects, training in ecosystem mapping, training for park rangers etc.
Scientific Research & Parks
Réserve d'Anja is the country's most successful community-managed
private reserve. Started in 1999, it is run and managed by Anja Miray,
whose members are local residents.
The biodiversity that Madagascar's parks and reserves protect is of great interest to scient-
ists, and many of the country's protected areas host research programs in primates, biod-
iversity, endemicity, the effects of climate change, deforestation and much more.
In 1986, scientists 'rediscovered' the greater bamboo lemur (previously
thought extinct) in what is now Ranomafana national park. They also
discovered a new species, the golden bamboo lemur. So extraordinary
were these findings that they led to the creation of the park.
The Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments set up the ValBio research
centre next to Parc National de Ranomafana; the Wildlife Conservation Society is highly
involved in the management and protection of Parc National de Masoala and the Baie
d'Antongilarea;theDurrellWildlifeConservationTrusthashadacaptivetortoisebreeding
centre at Parc National d'Ankarafantsika for nearly 25 years; the German Primate Centre
has been researching Réserve Forestière de Kirindy's lemurs since 1993; WWF is working
with the government on the designation of new protected areas; and Conservation Interna-
tional is working on wildlife corridors between protected areas.
These are just a handful of projects taking place in the country's parks but they highlight
how important protected areas are to the scientific community, a fact that is, sadly, not al-
ways well explained to visitors.
