News Updates
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On 27 June 2007, Marojejy was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as one of six national parks in Madagascar’s “Rainforests of the Atsinanana.” This highly deserved recognition comes at an especially critical time for Marojejy. We have recently learned that small amounts of precious wood are still being illegally cut and removed from park lands (under cover of darkness at night), and that some areas of the park along the remote northern boundary (near Andrahanjo) have been deforested for agricultural purposes and the cultivation of marijuana. The area covered by primary rainforests within the park continues to shrink, little by little. We sincerely hope that Marojejy’s new status as a World Heritage Site will bring increased attention to the management problems which continue to plague this extremely important and beautiful place.
Rainforests of the Atsinanana -- World Heritage Nomination Report (pdf file)
UNESCO's World Heritage Mission Statement (pdf file)
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In mid March and early April, two cyclones (hurricanes) slammed one after the other into northeastern Madagascar. While the area around Masoala National Park was very heavily hit, the Marojejy region did not feel the brunt of these storms quite as hard. Minimal damage to park infrastructure has now been cleaned up and the park is open for tourism as normal. Unfortunately, the rice and vanilla crops in the area were badly damaged, which could seriously affect the local economy and result in even greater hardships for villagers than usual. Of course, this puts more pressure on the park as villagers seek alternative food sources and other means to survive.
The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the frequency of cyclones hitting Madagascar, culminating with six during this season alone. This increase has been felt particularly strongly in the northeastern part of the island, where recovery from one cyclone is hardly possible before another hits. The future may well hold more of the same: unstable weather patterns due to global climate change are expected to produce similar devastating cyclones in Madagascar with increased frequency.
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The illegal removal of precious woods out of northeastern Madagascar continues unabated. On 27 January 2007, the Madagascar Tribune reported that rosewood worth in the millions of US dollars had recently been seized at the port of Vohémar, en route to China and Singapore. Threats were made to police by the traffickers, and it is widely believed that a number of Chinese businessmen in Antalaha and Sambava (operating with the support of highly placed authorities) are involved in this lucrative and illicit trade. Because there is so little primary lowland forest left in the area around Vohémar, it is highly likely that much (if not all) of this rosewood comes from protected areas such as Marojejy and Masoala National Parks.
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The hills surrounding Marojejy are once again on fire, and the air is thick with smoke. This is the season of tavy, when local people take advantage of the month or so of dry warm weather to slash-and-burn the land for rice cultivation. More land is being burned this year than has been burned in many years – a direct result of declining economic conditions and a skyrocketing population. Much of the land being burned is immediately adjacent to the park.
It is understandable that people living in extreme poverty will attempt to grow food wherever and however they can, especially using traditional methods that are deeply ingrained in their culture. But slash-and-burn agriculture is not a long-term solution. In the Marojejy area, there is little land left for increased cultivation outside of the protected zones – the forests have been cut right up to the park boundaries. With repeated slash-and-burn, erosion is increasing and soil nutrients are being depleted. Unless we find sustainable alternatives soon, Madagascar ’s children face a very bleak future.
After more than a year of serious problems (including corruption, threats, and ill-will), the new ANGAP staff in Andapa, under the impetus of a new director, seems to finally be working for the good of the park and the local people. The trails in Marojejy have been cleared and repaired all the way to Camp 3, camp maintenance is being carried out in partnership with Andapa’s Alliance Française, and the fight against hunting and deforestation in protected areas is being taken seriously. Half of all entrance fee receipts are finally being distributed to the local villages for development projects. We are encouraged by this progress, and hope that it is not simply a temporary show.
On 13 March, an American Peace Corps Volunteer who has worked for ANGAP in Marojejy and Anjanaharibe-Sud for the past two years was evacuated from the area. This emergency measure was taken after the U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo was notified that the volunteer was the subject of death threats and his life was in danger.
The threats are almost certainly prompted by revelations of corruption in ANGAP and the Ministry of Environment which have been exposed by the volunteer. The threats follow a number of acts of intimidation against the volunteer, including forcible entry into his residence in Andapa and the theft of many important park documents. They also follow death threats against the family of the former director of the park, who was forced to resign his post last month.
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The Park Logistics Coordinator has been fired after it was proven that he "readjusted" the park boundary without authorization during his tenure as Park Conservation Agent. The altered boundary removed 9 ha (22 acres) of land from the park, which the Agent then sold to a local farmer for 2 million fmg (approximately US $200). (The land was subsequently cleared of all vegetation by the farmer, who intended to grow rice on it. See photo below under the October 2005 News Updates.)
We are encouraged that park officials are finally responding to this kind of blatant corruption and hope this is not merely a token gesture to appease aid organizations. It is strongly suspected that both land and rosewood from the park have been sold by several other park officials as well, but none of these other cases are currently under investigation.
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With the re-opening of the legal exportation of precious woods from Malagasy ports, the traffic in rosewood from Marojejy has begun once again. Stockpiles of rosewood that were almost certainly cut illegally within park boundaries are now being surreptitiously hauled from villages around the park to Sambava and Antalaha; from there they will be shipped overseas (mostly to the Asian market, especially China). Even though park officials know the whereabouts of these rosewood stockpiles, no attempts have been made to verify their legality. And now that there is an authorized market for this valuable commodity again, it is likely that we will see renewed cutting of rosewood within the park.
Park personnel who were clearly involved in the illicit removal of rosewood from the park in March continue in their posts without sanctions, and have, in fact, recently represented the park as official guides for visiting groups from large international donor organizations…
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A number of areas within the boundaries of Marojejy National Park are currently being cleared by local residents for agricultural purposes. Vegetation has been cut and is now being allowed to dry before it is burned during the dry season in October and November. While some of these areas are second-growth forest (previously cleared during the political unrest of the late 1980s), other areas are virgin lowland rainforest.
Especially troubling is the fact that park boundary markers are being physically moved toward the interior of the park, sometimes with the approval and/or assistance of dishonest park employees. Although the park boundary was GPS surveyed several years ago, the data from these surveys have been lost (along with numerous other important documents), and park management must now rely on local villagers’ memories for the boundary’s actual location.
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