SRJS_ToC_MG Equitable and sustainable management of natural resources in the Ampasindava and Soalala landscapes in Madagascar

The north-west coast of Madagascar contains diverse ecosystems: from dense forests, lagoons and deltas with mangroves on the Ampasindava Peninsula to dry forest and thickets, bamboo shrub, mangroves, lakes and extensive alluvial plains in the Soalala landscape. These land and seascapes contain several protected areas and very diverse flora and fauna, including many endemic and threatened species. More than 80% of the local population’s livelihoods in these areas depend directly on natural resources and the important ecosystem services the landscapes provide. This includes fertile soils for agriculture, timber for firewood and construction, fish for protein and income, and fresh water for household consumption and farming. However, these landscapes are threatened by large-scale mining operations and related infrastructure development, charcoal production, commercial exploitation of timber, bush fires and slash and burn agriculture. On the Ampasindava Peninsula, the planned exploitation of valuable rare earth minerals in a forest area that is the source of three major rivers, threatens biodiversity and potentially water provisioning over a wide area. Within the Soalala landscape, opencast iron ore mining plans threaten fresh water availability, coastal fisheries and the last stronghold of the endemic and highly threatened ploughshare tortoise. Competition for land and natural resources is increasing between the conservation community, the private sector and local communities that struggle to secure tenure due to the current ineffective system to obtain land titles.