FAPBM and Madagascar National Parks (MNP), with the support of KfW and USAID Hay Tao, commissioned a study on the economic contribution of protected areas in Madagascar. A conference on the theme “Our protected areas are vital to our development” will present the results of the study on July 7 at the Carlton Hotel in Antananarivo.
In Madagascar, the economic and social importance of our national parks and nature reserves (our protected areas) is unknown or largely underestimated. This lack of knowledge often leads to questioning the usefulness of protected areas. Yet, a very high number of the key resources that support the economies and livelihoods of local communities and major economic sectors in Madagascar comes from protected areas.
Should we maintain our protected areas? The results of the study on the economic contribution of Madagascar’s protected areas have showed that protected areas benefit the entire Malagasy population. A White Paper has been produced to disseminate the main contributions of protected areas’ ecosystem services at the local (for communities living around protected areas), national (for the entire Malagasy population) and global (for humanity) levels.
It is high time protected areas were put in the hearts of the Malagasy people and at the center of national and local decisions for the development of the present and future generations. The complete study is available here.
