Restoring the Mangroves of Kaday

The restoration of mangroves has been one of the conservation actions carried out by WWF Madagascar in the Manambolo Tsiribihina landscape since 2007. From 2011 onwards, annual planting campaigns were carried out with local communities and youth. And the numbers are eloquent. More than 2 million mangroves have been planted by communities supported by the WWF and its partners in the Tsiribihina Delta since 2007.

At the Andranokaolo site near the village of Kaday, 340 ha of mangroves have been restored in 10 years. 1000 ha of mangroves in addition have regenerated naturally following the plantings, and even outside the zone of restoration.

Satellite images from Google Earth taken in 2004, before the restoration led by WWF, show a totally barren landscape. In 2007 images after the beginning of the restoration, we can view the new mangroves growing, and by 2017 the degraded area is completely covered with mangroves!

The mangroves of Manambolo Tsiribihina, in the Menabe Region, have always been exploited by humans. Inhabitants cleared the land to convert the land to rice paddies, use of the wood for construction, produce firewood and charcoal.

This uncontrolled use led in the 60s and 70s to the total disappearance of the mangroves in Andranokaolo. But 10 years of regular and sustained restoration have caused the lost forest to be reborn. Thus, habitats for waterfowl species, shrimps and crabs reappeared, with a positive growth of fishing, one of local community’s main activity.
For an effective management of the area, Kaday’s community committed to effectively take in charge the management of these natural resources, through a community based management agreement formalized with the Malagasy state.

Much remains to be done for the mangroves of Manambolo Tsiribihina. But these 10 years of effort show that with enough determination, we can bring back the forest together.

This story originally appeared on WWF.mg.