Here in the Kalamboro estuary, a healthy mangrove forest provides habitat for important species of wildlife and resources for local communities. Fish are important from a livelihood perspective for local communities that rely heavily on fishing for their food and income. Those engaged in the project acquired new skills, important resources and higher incomes to care for their homes, send their children to school and experience a balanced diet.

Goals:

• Restore mangrove forest
• Promote biodiversity
• Promote economic and livelihood development

Why was intervention needed?

Healthy mangroves were once widespread along the coast of Madagascar, capturing sediments that destroy coral reefs, sheltering highly diverse mollusc and crustacean communities and providing resources for birds, sea turtles, manatees as well as the Malagasy people themselves. In the last decades, human activities in the form of urban development, overfishing, rice farming, salt production and deforestation have caused the widespread destruction of this unique ecosystem. With its rivers running ‘blood red’ staining the surrounding Indian Ocean from soil erosion brought about by deforestation, as early as 1983 astronauts remarked that it looked as if Madagascar was bleeding to death. This metaphor highlights one of Madagascar's greatest environmental problems.