MADAGASCAR, Antanandava Village - July 2010
Construction of two primary school classrooms with furnishings and a restroom block in support of an agreement to stop all new shifting cultivation within 988 acres of biologically diverse low-elevation humid forest for a duration of 15 years
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Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, has been recognized as one of the world’s top eight mega-biodiversity countries and one of the top five threatened biodiversity hotspots. The Makirovana-Tsihomanaomby forest complex in northeastern Madagascar consists of 20 square miles of low-elevation, fragmented, humid forest. It has been identified as a national priority area for plant conservation by the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), and is in the process of being formally recognized by the government as a new protected area. Numerous locally endemic and threatened plant species are found there, and animal diversity is robust as well with 60 species of reptile and amphibian, 75 bird species and six species of lemur. The forest is threatened by bushmeat hunting, selective rosewood logging, and especially by slash-and-burn agriculture. Shifting cultivation by the slash-and-burn method (“tavy”) is the traditional and predominant land use practice in eastern Madagascar where remaining forests are found. It is the primary cause of deforestation and upland forest degradation, and has heavily contributed to the loss of approximately 90 percent of Madagascar’s original forest cover. Since 2008, the MBG has been working with the people of Antanandava, a community of 1,092 to the south of the forest, to reduce these threats and conserve the area. Seacology is funding a new primary school to replace their deteriorating and small bamboo and wood school rooms in support of an agreement to stop all new shifting cultivation within the 988 acres of the Makirovana-Tsihomanaomby forest complex.
UPDATE January 2011 - According to project coordinator Chris Birkenshaw of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the contract between the builder and MBG for the construction of the classrooms was signed on October 8 2010. Also in October, a committee of parents was created by popular vote and given the responsibilities of: a) organizing the contribution of the local community (transport of materials and stones) towards the construction of the school; and b) with Dorian (MBG's site based facilitator), checking that the agreed plan and material specifications are respected by the builder. Materials for the construction of the classrooms are being transported from the major town of Sambava to the River Bemarivo and then transferred to canoes to transport to the river bank closest to the village of Antanandava. From the river bank, the parents then carry the materials to the construction site. To date they have transported: 200 sacks of cement, 55 cubic meters of sand, 80 planks, 15 cubic meters of gravel, 10 cubic meters of stone blocks, and all the required metal strengthening rods. According to Chris Birkenshaw, this contribution should not be under-estimated: it represents much hard work and a real investment by the people of Antanandava in the education of their children. The walls of the classrooms are being constructed of concrete breeze blocks. These are made by hand at the construction site. In total 2,200 blocks are required and to date 1,700 have been made. The stone block and gravel foundation for the classrooms have been completed, and the walls have been partially completed.
UPDATE June 2011 - According to project coordinator Chris Birkenshaw of the Missouri Botanical Garden, as of early April 2011, “The school is essentially complete except for a second coat of paint. We expect that all will be completed in one week and then MBG with the committee of parents will make an inspection of the work to confirm that the specifications of the contract were followed."
