Menabe Antimena - Fondation pour les Aires Protégées et la Biodiversité de Madagascar

Manager

Fanamby Association

Area

210,312 ha

Geographic Location

Toliara Province; Menabe Region; Morondava and Belo/Tsiribihina Districts

International label

key iodiversity area, Zero Extinction Alliance (ZEA) site, Important Bird Area (IBA), Priority Area for Plant Conservation, RAMSAR site (Lake Bedo)

Flagship Species

Menabe Antimena is constituted by an exceptional biological diversity. It is characterized by large contiguous blocks of natural habitats such as dense dry forests, Lake Kimanaomby, Lake Bedo and mangroves with a center of micro endemism. The dense dry forests are home to many endemic species such as Hazomalany, rosewood and baobabs. They also constitute the main habitat of the flagship species of the Menabe Antimena including the giant jumping rat, the flat-tailed turtle, the smallest primate in the world (Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur), the mongoose with fine stripes and the fosa. The lakes are home to many species of birds.

Primates

8 species

3 of which are critically endangered (the small lepilemur, the sifaka, Madame Berthe's mouse lemur), 2 endangered and 2 vulnerable (e.g., the red lemur)

Birds

149 species

1 critically endangered (the Madagascar fish eagle), 5 endangered (e.g., the Madagascar teal, the white crab heron, the Madagascan grebe) and 3 vulnerable (e.g. the Madagascar gravelot, the variegated mestizo)

Reptiles

54 species

1 critically endangered (the flat-tailed turtle), 2 endangered and 4 vulnerable among which 2 species of chameleon

Amphibians

15 species

1 vulnerable

Bats

16 species

2 vulnerable (e.g., the Madagascar flying fox)

Carnivores

3 species

1 endangered and 1 vulnerable (the fosa)

Other mammals

14 species

1 local endemic classified as endangered (the giant jumping rat) and 1 vulnerable tenrec species

Plants

312 species

243 are endemic to Madagascar among which 4 are endangered (e.g.,Renala) and 3 vulnerable

Landscapes and habitats

Dense dry forest, xerophilous thicket (a highly impoverished variant of dense dry forest), mangroves, tans, lakes, secondary forests and thickets, secondary grasslands and pastures, inter-dune swamps

Pressures and threats

slash-and-burn agriculture, uncontrolled bush fires, selective logging, charcoal production, hunting and trapping of wild animals, drainage and drying of marshes, mangrove logging, invasive species, migration.

Economic value

Provides additional income for the population through ecotourism in the special reserve of Andranomena and the National Center for Training, Study and Research on the Environment and Forestry (CNFEREF) Existence of an association of sculptors who value the dead (precious) wood in the areas of right of use, whose sector is well structured and brings in a lot of income for the communities.

Initiatives of the populations

Both the de facto delegated manager (Fanamby) and the sub-delegates (Durrell), CNFEREF works closely with the local communities: whether for the management of the area, through the various Natural Resource Management Transfers (NRMT) set up, or the implementation of activities such as patrols and firefighting, through the Local Management Committee (LMC), fire officers, Dina Executive Committee (KMD), etc.

Category