Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
community there is still a lack of know-how in securing donor and NGO finance,
which results in a lot of frustration for all parties wanting to implement
ecotourism projects. More technical assistance is needed to meet donors'
advanced reporting requirements.
Creation of a clear administrative structure
As a former colony, Madagascar's administrative structure is based on the French
system. This has resulted in a top-down rather than bottom-up decision-making
process. Ongoing decentralization is being pushed by the President by redistribut-
ing manpower: lowering staff numbers in the capital and adding employees in the
provinces. Decentralization will strengthen provincial tourism entities and give
them greater institutional responsibility.
It was mentioned in the previous section that between 2005 and 2007 the
Ministry of Tourism was attached to three different ministries and the minister in
charge was exchanged four times. From 2005 until December 2006 it was the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism. From December 2006 to November 2007 it
became the Ministry of Transport and Tourism. Since November 2007 to the
present day, it has been known as the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forest
and Tourism. The merge between the ministries of tourism and the environment
had been long awaited by tourism businesses and donor institutions focusing on
ecotourism. The move supports government statements for ecotourism develop-
ment in Madagascar. Furthermore, a new department, dedicated to ecotourism
development and services, will be launched within this new ministry resulting in a
proper base for ecotourism development and activities. The former poor commu-
nication and administrative complexity will be hopefully minimized by the merge
of these two ministries.
Implementation of an ecotourism development plan
that is supported by a legal framework
The masterplan analysed the major obstacles for tourism and ecotourism devel-
opment in Madagascar and indicated that one big problem is that a certain vision
and definition of 'ecotourism' has not been agreed upon in Madagascar.
Ecotourism is often confused with nature tourism and the local population has
not been sensitized to understand the difference. 'Ecotod' has proposed a defini-
tion to the ministry which has been used in the Malagasy tourism law (Code du
Tourisme), currently under revision. The revision of this law by the actual
Ministry and supported by the IFC can be seen as an enormous step forward, as
relevant changes and facilitation were agreed, including those for investment
procedures. In addition, ecotourism issues have been integrated into a law for the
first time.
Hotel and lodge classification is also under revision. The current indicators
are outdated and the classification indicators cannot be checked due to financial
constraints. Ministry officials cannot travel to the hotels and lodges to revise their
status. As a result, hotel and lodge managers have the ability to list their accommo-
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