Slash and burn agriculture is the main cause of deforestation in and around the forest corridor of Fandriana Marolambo.
Rice fields and sugar cane plantations (to produce toakagasy, a local and illegal rum) are replacing the forest.
But too short fallow periods and recurrent fires prevent the soil to remain fertile and its productivity usually quickly drops.
With close to 150,000 people living in Fandriana Marolambo, the landscape is under pressure from farmers desperately looking for new fields and invading the forests to clear additional land.
Solutions
To solve the problems in Fandriana Marolambo, the Holistic Conservation Programme for Forests is carrying out four priority activities :
Rice fields and sugar cane plantations (to produce toakagasy, a local and illegal rum) are replacing the forest.
But too short fallow periods and recurrent fires prevent the soil to remain fertile and its productivity usually quickly drops.
With close to 150,000 people living in Fandriana Marolambo, the landscape is under pressure from farmers desperately looking for new fields and invading the forests to clear additional land.
Solutions
To solve the problems in Fandriana Marolambo, the Holistic Conservation Programme for Forests is carrying out four priority activities :
- Transfers of natural resources management to local communities;
- Alternative, sustainable, agriculture practices;
- Restoration of savannas, fallows and degraded forests; and
- Reforestation for sustainable fuelwood production
