MADAGASCAR
Photo: ReefDoctor
Madagascar. What makes it so beautiful? A lot of people would say its wildlife, and in the words of Sir David Attenborough, it is "an unrepeatable experiment; a set of unique animals and plants evolving in isolation for over 60 million years". The country is one of the world’s mega biodiversity hotspots and around 90% of the species here are found nowhere else on Earth, including the country’s flagship species, lemurs. It is also home to nearly half the world’s chameleon species, and seven out of the eight worldwide species of the iconic baobab tree. Over the last decade, 600 new species have been found on the island, therefore, it is no wonder that it's often coined the ‘eighth continent’.
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Ignoring the endless potholes, missing stretches of road and numb bums, a taxi brousse ride up through the country is an amazing experience. It will take you through an epic and diverse array of dramatic landscapes, from dry spiny forests, alleys of baobabs and large coral reef complexes, to central plateau highlands, rainforests, tropical coastlines, limestone formations and volcanic mountains. This country truly is an ecological marvel and an adventurers paradise!
"THIS EDEN IS STILL A PLACE OF WONDER AND MAGIC. SOMETHING, SURELY, WORTH PROTECTING."
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
THE MALAGASY
However, if you asked me what makes Madagascar beautiful, I'd have to say the people. The Malagasy. Never before have I met people so welcoming, warm, generous and centered in the present. A sense of community and friendship would radiate from each place I visited, and many people I met valued perseverance, integrity and modesty above all else. I really believe they represent the positive nature of humanity in so many ways, something many societies could learn from.
The Malagasy are also truly unique. Despite Madagascar’s relative proximity to the African continent, they are actually primarily descended from Indonesian seafarers who settled on the island around 2,000 years ago. They were then followed by Africans and Arabs. The complex mix of origins has produced a unique and distinctive Malagasy society and culture, where there are currently more than 20 ethnic sub-groups, each with their own dialects, set of beliefs, practices and ways of life. Despite such complexity, their cultural identity is strongly unified by some common, core cultural features. In particular, this includes the power of dead ancestors as well as taboos, known as fady, to ensure the approval and protection of such ancestral spirits.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
This is a biologically and spiritually rich and enormous island, but it is also an island under threat, ecologically and socio-economically.
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Devastating environmental degradation has taken place across most of the island. Alarmingly, it is estimated that Madagascar has lost more than 90% of its original forests since the arrival of humans around 2,000 years ago, with 80% lost in just the last 30 years. The widespread practice of slash-and-burn, to make way for rice fields and cattle grazing, and illegal logging for overseas markets has led this extensive deforestation. On top of natural habitat loss, some of the island’s native animals, including lemurs, have been intensively hunted by impoverished people desperate for subsistence. The island’s coastal and marine habitats, including one of the world’s largest coral reef systems along the west coast, are also subject to intense pressures including over-exploitation, climate change, and deforestation-induced sedimentation.
Despite a wealth of natural resources, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 164/187 in the 2020 UN Human Development Index. Approximately 92% of the population now live on less than $2 USD per day. While agriculture employs up to 80% of the country’s workforce, the country does not grow enough food to feed its population, and, since the coup of 2009, the price of basic food staples, like rice, has doubled.
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As stated by the UN, ‘Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment’. From shifting weather patterns that cause drought and threaten food production, to increasingly severe storms that destroy homes and communities, the impacts of climate change are global in scope, unprecedented in scale and are projected to increase in frequency and severity. All around the world, the people least responsible for the climate crisis are paying the highest price for inaction, particularly vulnerable communities in the Global South. Between 1933 and 2019, Madagascar has produced less than 0.01% of all the carbon dioxide generated, yet parts of southern Madagascar are currently facing the most severe drought since 1981 and the first climate change-induced famine, putting 30,000 people in the highest intentionally recognised level of food insecurity. Speaking at COP 26, Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina addressed the impact of climate change in Madagascar, saying ‘the consequences are disastrous'. As well as droughts, an increase in cyclone intensity and flooding, soil degradation, erosion, and crop damaging pests in will all be a result of warming temperatures. This highlights the climate injustice playing out across the planet and stresses the importance of governments, organisations and individuals taking action to lower global carbon emissions.
POVERTY
CLIMATE CHANGE
EDUCATION
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Prior to 2009, the country was making slow but definite progress towards the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education. However, political instability since the coup in 2009, has led to an 82% fall in national investment in education. Madagascar has the world’s fifth highest number of out of school children, and, with falling investment in school infrastructure, it's education system is facing a crisis.
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Insufficient educational infrastructure is a symptom of Madagascar’s severe underdevelopment; there are simply not enough classrooms in Madagascar to provide education for all children. For the schools that are there, shortages of resources, qualified teachers, basic facilities and funding in schools (particularly in rural areas), lead to poor quality of education for many children, and therefore student dropouts.
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Currently, Madagascar’s population growth rate is at 2.8% a year, one of the highest in Africa, and nearly 2/3’s of the population is under the age of 24. I believe this can go either of two ways. It can either deepen the poverty cycle and cause further environmental degradation; or, it provide for the opportunity to educate and influence Madagascar's future decision makers and unlock a prosperous future.
