Duke Lemur Center and the Madagascar Fauna Group

by Charlie Welch, Duke Lemur Center Conservation Manager

Andrea and I are just back from the annual MFG board meeting which was hosted this year by the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The meeting consists of progress reports from the on the ground conservation work at Ivoloina and Betampona, as well as budget and activity planning for the year to come. The good news is that in addition to great progress with all aspects of the projects, the MFG is on as firm a financial ground as it has ever been. Relatively new in-country Project Manager An Bollen is doing a terrific job of taking the projects forward (despite the current political crisis), and former Project Manager Karen Freeman has brought an exciting new facet to the MFG as Research Coordinator. Karen takes on that work from her home in Scotland.

To explain a bit about the MFG – it is a consortium of zoological parks and botanical gardens in the North America and Europe that are committed to conservation in Madagascar. By pooling resources the group can maximize conservation impact and assure long term continuity for the projects. The consortium was initially formed in 1989, and the Duke Lemur Center is a founding and managing member. There are currently 27 member institutions of the MFG, at different membership levels. More information and current newsletters are available at www.savethelemur.org.

Political Challenges in Madagascar - the only place in the world where lemurs occur naturally

Blog entry by Charlie Welch, Conservation Coordinator at the Duke Lemur Center
Charlie and his family lived and worked in Madagascar for many years and care deeply for the people, the land and the lemurs.

It has been almost a month since I wrote the last update of the political situation in Madagascar. Much has changed since that last entry.

The democratically elected president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana resigned on March 17. He handed power to the military which had backed the opposition, and the military quickly passed the power on to opposition leader, Andry Rajoelina. This past Saturday, March 21 in a ceremony at the main stadium in Tana Mr. Rajoelina was formally handed the reins of the country. Mr. Rajoelina has the title of leader of the HAT, which translates as the High Authority of the Transition (government). He can not be given the title president as the Malagasy constitution dictates that any president of Madagascar must be a minimum of 40 years old. Mr. Rajoelina is 34. He will however have the same authority as a president. The “transition” government is to last for 24 months, after which there will be elections.

The international community has roundly condemned the unseating of a democratically elected president by forceful means. The African Union and the South African Development Community have both announced that they do not recognize the new government in Madagascar. The US, EU, and other countries around the world have taken the same stance. To date, I do not know of a single country which has come out in support of the new government in Madagascar. Most donor countries, including the US have suspended non-humanitarian aid. The US government has evacuated all “non-mission” personnel and their families. The Peace Corps has evacuated all volunteers.

The situation is a complex one for the donor community. No one wants to cut off aid to one of the poorest countries in the world, as that punishes those at the lower end of the economic scale. Also, as Madagascar is of enormous importance from a world biodiversity standpoint, conservation organizations do not want to curtail their fight to protect the key natural areas that remain on the island. Both are critically important points with no easy solutions.

What does it all mean? So hard to say at this point. What it does mean for certain is a large loss of foreign investment, which will mean further loss of jobs, which of course translates as difficult times ahead for the Malagasy people. And that on top of an already sagging world economy which has already caused cutbacks for many economic and business ventures in Madagascar, as worldwide. Being an unrecognized government will add enormously to that burden. It is certainly not good news for the environment as more of the new government’s emphasis will need to be on immediate people issues. Also, for the moment it is not yet clear what the new government’s view on conservation and the environment will be. At present illegal removal of precious woods from forests in certain areas of the northeastern part of the country is out of control, with armed gangs threatening locals in some instances. Some of the national parks have had to be closed down in that area of the country for security reasons. Everyone hopes that this is not a preview of things to come.

On a side closer to us, little has changed for the Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG) and Duke Lemur Center (DLC) in terms of conservation work in Madagascar. MFG Project Manager An Bollen is carrying on with work and trainings at Ivoloina and Betampona. There have been delays on some of the trainings, and some researchers have postponed their work, but otherwise An feels that it is important continue to move forward in as normal a fashion as is possible. We agree.

As always, our thoughts and hopes for the best are with our friends, and colleagues in Madagascar – in fact with the whole of Madagascar. There are difficult times ahead.

Here is a recent article from National Geographic about the situation in Madagascar and how it effects conservation.

Sad Time for Madagascar - Native Home for All Lemurs

Madagascar, native home for all lemurs, is facing challenging political times.

Last week, tensions and frustrations in Madagascar sadly boiled over when peaceful demonstrations degenerated into riots and looting in the capital of Anatananarivo (Tana), as well as in some provincial capitols. The mayor of Tana, Andry Rajoelina, (nicknamed TGV for the French high-speed trains,) has emerged as the leader of an opposition movement and has declared himself :in charge" of the country. For the moment, there is a power standoff between Mr. Rajoelina and the president, Marc Ravalomanana.

The source of the discontent is the worsening economy in Madagascar, despite much recent and planned foreign investment. The mining sector has been the recipient of much of the investment, and a plan to lease out massive tracts of agricultural land to South Korea has particularly embittered public opinion. Most Malagasy people, especially at the lower end of the economic scale, feel that their buying power is only shrinking, despite the investments.

The primary targets of the looting around the country were enterprises owned by president Pavalomanana, who is also a businessman. Those include the MAGRO and Tiko stores and warehouses which contain mostly dairy products and other food stuffs. In many instances, the looting spread to other businesses, including electronic stores, furniture stores, and other grocery stores and markets.

The Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG) office in the east coast city of Tamatave or Toamasina narrowly missed becoming collateral damage when a MAGRO warehouse store was attacked and looted in the night of 3 Feb. The MFG office is directly across the street from the MAGRO, as is MFG Project Manager An Bollen's house. An is safe and hanging in there and has moved temporarily to a more prudent location. As a reminder, the Duke Lemur Center is a founding and managing member of the MFG consortium which at present includes 26 members at different levels. The MFG has an ongoing history of more that 20 years of conservation work in the Tamatave area.

The MFG projects at Ivoloina and Betampona are so far not directly impacted by violence or looting, as they are 12km and 40km out of town, respectively. However, staff are having difficulty finding enough food for the protected lemurs at Ivolina, since most of the markets in town were ransacked. It is also impossible for them to get much done with many businesses and stores closed in town, including banks. And, of course, for Ivoloina, the turmoil is bad news in terms of visitor numbers. Last week, a cruise ship, that was scheduled to visit at Ivoloina, cancelled. Cruise ship revenue is very important to Ivoloina, as there are sometimes hundreds of foreign visitors who make the trip from the docked ships.

So what does this all mean for Madagascar? In the short and medium term, there will be food shortages due to looting. Food prices are already going up and, in some cases, doubled. People will become more desperate and crime will increase (which tends to happen in such periods of instability.) Jobs have already been lost, and there are almost certainly more losses to come. Life will become more difficult for those on the bottom of the economic scale, especially those who are already living on the edge. The poorest in the countryside will be forced to draw more from the land, just to keep themselves and their families alive. So the state of the environment and the forests will certainly suffer. All not good.

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the MFG staff and to the Malagasy people as a whole, during these difficult times. May there be a quick resolution to this tenuous situation, such that the country can move forward and people can live their lives in peace and dignity - and so that there can be hope for conservation efforts in Madagascar.
Post by Charlie Welch, Duke Lemur Centers Conservation Manager
If you read French, Charlie suggests this link.

New Years at the Duke Lemur Center

A mirza and a galago prepare to eat their way into a New Year.

Charlie Welch, Duke Lemur Center's Conservation Manager, who spent many years representing Duke in Madagascar, writes:
See below for the link to the most recent Eighth Continent Quarterly. Less animal news in this issue, but reports on many other exciting Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG) activities, which your Lemur Center is a part of. Be sure to catch the striking Parodura photo at the bottom of the last page.
http://www.savethelemur.org/MFG-winter-09.pdf
As you check out this link, notice Fidi Rasambainarivo. He is is the first Wildlife Veterinarian in Madagascar. He did a part of his work at the Duke Lemur Center. LH

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best for the new year. I send you all (in Malagasy tradition) three cheek kisses for new years best wishes. Sorry guys, but that includes you too -- so all the better to do that electronically!

Best to all,

Charlie

A pair of Pygmy Slow lorises patiently await 2009.
All photos by David Haring, DLC photographer

Make it one of your New Year's resolutions to visit the Duke Lemur Center. Call 919.489.3364 to schedule a tour. If you would like to help promote the 3-part mission of the DLC: Conservation, research, and education, Click here to Donate or Adopt. Lots of lemurs will benefit!