Water Resources Management for the Mahafaly Plateau

Geographical location:

Africa/Madagascar > West Indian Ocean > Madagascar

Summary

The project aims at contributing to poverty alleviation through sustainable development in the Mahafaly Plateau, in the Southwestern region of Madagascar.

Background

The project was initially prepared for submission to the EU Water Facility in June 2006. However, due to WWF eligibility issues in Madagascar, it was not submitted. Recently, the German Development Bank (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau - KfW) and the WWF Germany Freshwater Programme have both expressed interest in the proposed action and requested the present revised proposal that stresses the link between the work currently undertaken by WWF, KfW and ANGAP (Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées) on the Mahafaly Plateau.

The Mahafaly Plateau covers much of the Southwestern region (Atsimo-Andrefana) of Madagascar and is located in the province of Toliary. This semi-arid area is a high priority area for the conservation of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity. This is evidenced by the various scientific priority activities undertaken by WWF (2000), ANGAP as part of its Management Plan of Protected Areas Network (PLANGRAP, 2001), it is also mentionned as one of the Important Bird Areas of Madagascar (ZICOMA) of Birdlife International, and has been targeted as one of the key biodiversity areas in a recent priority setting workshop conducted by Conservation International. Within the Mahafaly Plateau is the Tsimanampesotse lake, the first site declared Wetlands of International Importance as part of the Madagascar's contribution to the Ramsar Convention.

This area also has the highest poverty rate in the country, characterised by food insecurity which is due to chronic drought and lack of economic opportunities. There is very limited access to basic health services and education. This situation mainly results from the scarcity of water resources. What’s more, subsistence farming and animal husbandry, namely cattle raising, constitute the main economic activities of the population. The lack of water represents a major obstacle for developing these activities. Poor management of existing water resources leads to low agricultural productivity and thus, food insecurity. Stables sources of income are difficult to develop. Lack of water and green vegetation forces herders to long transhumance routes during the dry season and to resort to burning pastures for fresh growth. As a result, increasing population movements threaten the fragile ecosystem of the Mahafaly Plateau and the natural environmental balance.

Since 2004, WWF Germany and KfW have actively supported the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources in this Southwesterm region of Madagascar, especially through its support to: ANGAP in the development and management of the Tsimanampesotse and Kirindy-Mite National Parks; build the capacity of the local forest administration; an institutional development of the communes. This support programme has been implemented in partnership with WWF. For the Mahafaly Plateau in particular, this support mainly consists of helping ANGAP in its efforts to extend the current boundaries of the Tsimanampesotse National Park to the South to expand the surface area 3 to 4 fold from 43,000 to over 150,000 ha. Such an extension will require the strong involvement of the local communities and investments in agro-pastoral production systems. To this end, it is planned to put into place a shared governance and co-management system for the park with the communities directly concerned.

Objectives

Assist the local communities of the Mahafaly Plateau area in improving the management and production potential of transformed land areas used for agriculture and pasture through an improved use of the existing water resources in the region.

Solution

In order to further reinforce positive harmony between the local communities and the natural resources, it will be necessary to help and assist those communities with social programmes and economic development activities that are feasible in this arid region. Furthermore, the extension of the park could bring about benefits such as ecotourism development in the park and the adjacent coastal areas. It is a priority to prepare the peripheral communities to profit from opportunities and potential benefits.