MADAGASCAR CONCLUSION

     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 14^th, 2015, Cyclone Giovanna hit Madagascar killing 68 and leaving 20,000 living in temporary shelters.  On February 14^th, 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