Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. It is located off the southeast coast of
Africa in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar
is a very unique and special place.
About 88 million years ago Madagascar separated from India which allowed
the animals and plants to evolve in isolation.
Over 90% of the animals and plants are found nowhere else in the
world. Unfortunately, the animals and
plants are threatened because of the increase in human population and
destruction of habitat. Even by third
world standards, Madagascar is a very poor country. Over 93% of the 22 million people in
Madagascar live on less than two dollars a day and up to 11 million don’t have
access to clean water. Most are not able to afford health care and
the few medical professionals and hospitals are located in cities. The majority of the population, 70%, lives in
rural areas. The infrastructure is also lacking in most areas. Only 15% of the population has access to
electricity and only 17% of the roads are paved. With the problems that Madagascar is
currently facing, the poverty and lack of infrastructure is only exacerbating
them.
The two main problems that Madagascar is facing are the weather, which
is increasing in severity most likely due to global warming, and
deforestation. Between the rainy periods
of November thru May, Madagascar experiences about three to four cyclones a year. These cyclones usually hit the east coast,
especially in the central and northern regions, resulting in torrential rain,
high winds and coastal flooding.
Although cyclones have always been a problem, the storms have become
more severe causing damage and destruction of buildings, crops and roads along
with a number of deaths. On January 14th,
2015, Cyclone Giovanna hit Madagascar killing 68 and leaving 20,000 living in
temporary shelters. On February 14th,
2015, Cyclone Giovanna killed 23 people and damaged over 1000 homes. In the cities the drainage systems like dykes,
pumping stations and levees are poorly built and not that well maintained
making the population more vulnerable to mudslides and flooding. In rural areas, there are very few if any types
of drainage systems present. Since the
population is so poor, many are forced to live in flood zones or areas which
are subject to mudslides. Many of the
homes are poorly constructed with some only made of cardboard and plastic. One solution is to improve the drainage
systems in the cities and make sure that they are better maintained to decrease
the chances of flooding and mudslides.
In rural areas that are vulnerable to flooding and mudslides, drainage
systems should be put in place. The laws
and regulations that prohibit building in flood zones should be reinforced
which unfortunately many are not. Retaining
walls should be utilized to support slopes and grading, removing material from
the upper slope and placing it at the bottom, should also be an option.Slope
stability should also be thoroughly accessed before any home is built on a
hill or next to a hill. Better building
materials should also be provided to the poor so their homes would better be
able to withstand storms.
In contrast, Madagascar suffers from
periodic droughts in the south. In the
past Madagascar would experience a drought about every ten years but now
droughts are occurring every three to five years. Agriculture is the foundation of Madagascar’s
economy. Not only are the cyclones
damaging and destroying crops in the north but the droughts are also damaging
and destroying crops in the south. The drought this past year has been so
severe that 100 people have died of starvation and left over 200,000 on the
brink of starvation because of crop failure.
Some have resorted to eating lemurs, a cultural taboo, and cattle feed. The
UN food assistance has been providing food for the population along with other
charitable organizations like UNICEF. Organizations like The Forum for Agricultural
Research in Africa (FARA) and Knowledge Management Platform (KMP) have provided
videos for farmers to teach them how to make
quick compost, how to use mulch
to conserve moisture and growing alternative crops like sorghum and millet that
are drought resistant. These are good
solutions on a temporary basis but if these droughts persist the government may
have to resort to relocating the population into areas that have access to
water. Another solution may be building a seawater desalination plant to
convert seawater into drinkable water.
This would provide clean water not only to the population but also
crops.
Deforestation is another problem that Madagascar is facing. It is estimated that Madagascar has loss 80%
of its forest due to slash and burn agriculture, illegal logging, wood for fuel
and clearing the forest for mines. This
is not only threatening the animals and the habitat they live in but it is also
making the land more vulnerable to landslides and causing soil erosion. Mangroves along the west coast are also being
cut increasing beach erosion. When
forests are cut and trees are not replanted, scrubs and grass grow which are
not always able to anchor the soil. This
makes certain areas more vulnerable to landslides or mudslides during the rainy
season. Madagascar loses about 200-400
tons of soil per hectare each year due to soil runoff. The average worldwide is around 11 tons. Since agriculture is so important to the
economy, Madagascar cannot afford to lose this valuable rich soil. One solution is to provide electricity to the
population. Only 15% of the population
has access to electricity so trees are cut to use for cooking, heat and
light. There should be severe fines put
in place if anyone is illegally logging and environmental regulations for
mines. Unfortunately, mines are
lucrative for the government and also provide much needed jobs to the
population so environmental concerns are not usually considered. Hopefully some middle ground can be found so
that if these mines operate, they do so with the least amount of environmental
impact. The population also needs to be
educated about not only how special and unique the animals and the habitat of
Madagascar are but how important keeping it safe will be for future
generations. There also needs to be a
massive tree planning campaign that should start at the local level. An
alternative to slash and burn agriculture needs to be put in place. Slash and burn agriculture involves cutting
or burning the forest and planting crops for a couple of seasons and then
abandoning the land and repeating the process.
Inga ally cropping has been used as an alternative to slash and burn
agriculture in Costa Rica and Honduras.
Crops are planted between rows of Inga trees that grow very fast. The trees not only provide a canopy to
protect the crops but the branches and leaves can be used for mulch. The bigger limbs can be pruned and used as
fuel and the roots of the trees produce a fungus that recycles phosphorus so
the soil will retain its fertility and the land can be used continually.
The severe weather that Madagascar is experiencing appears to have a
direct link to global warming. Global
warming needs to be addressed globally with the wealthier countries not only
taking the lead to decrease greenhouse gases but also help poorer countries
deal with the affects of global warmer. There also needs to be more of a global
effort to decrease the population. With
7 billion plus people, the planet cannot sustain this population without
continued environmental degradation which is taking place in many parts of the
world. Some of the damage and
destruction of the environment may not be reversible and when an animal or
plant becomes extinct, that is it. It is
loss to the world forever. As far as
where I would live in Madagascar, my first response is that I would not want to
live in Madagascar. I would love to
visit the island and see the lemurs and the Tsingy rock formations along with
many other sites, but I would never want to live there. Madagascar is a very
impoverished country and the government has been trying to recover from a coop
that took place in 2009. If I was going
to try to find a place to live in Madagascar, I would choose to live near a
major town or city. The only way I would
have access to clean water, electricity, paved roads, medical facilities,
internet, cell towers, airports and decent sanitary conditions would be if I
lived close to a major populated area. In
most rural areas, very few if any of these amenities are present. Even in major towns or cities, the
electricity goes out periodically and the sanitary conditions and quality of
medical care can still be lacking. The
place I would choose to live is Nosy Be which is an island off the north-west
coast of Madagascar and it is a part of Madagascar. The island is a huge tourist destination but
since it does cater to tourists, all the amenities are present and there are
good sanitary conditions. It is also a
beautiful tropical island with beautiful beaches, coral reefs to explore,
lemurs, and an abundant amount of forests that have not been cut down due to
deforestation. Around Nosy Be there are
several smaller islands that also have beautiful beaches, forests and lemurs
that can be visited. When it comes to
hazards, Madagascar does have cyclones that hit the northern part of the island
and do pass over Nosy Be. The eastern
side of Madagascar usually gets the biggest impact of the cyclones. It may not be the safest place to build a
house when it comes to hazards but it would be where I would choose to live in
Madagascar. I would make sure that my house was reinforced to withstand
cyclones and not built too close to the ocean.
REFERENCES
Kellor, Edward A., Devecchio,
Duane E., (2015) Natural Hazards, Earth's processes as Hazards,
Disasters, and Catastrophes (4TH ED).
Madagascar - Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia, www.wikipedia.org
Water Aid Madagascar, www.wateraid.org
Poverty in Madagascar - the
Borgen Project, www.borgenproject.org
Deforestation in Madagascar – NC
State University. www4.ncsu.edu.edu/-tlbolton/world_forestry.
Heavy rains turn Antananarivo into a city of
landslides.
floodlist.com/africa/heavy-rain-antananarivo-landslides.
Inga ally cropping. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inga_Alley_Cropping
Devastating Drought has
200,000 People in Madagascar on…https://news.vice.com/article/devastation=drought
Tens of thousands going hungry in
drought-hit Madagascar.news-yahoo.com/ten=thousands-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosy_Be
