Madagascar is a nation with over 200,000 species of plants and animals that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. But more than 90% of Madagascar’s original forests have been destroyed, displacing entire animal species and taking away the Malagasy’s ability to farm and live on the land. Entire mangrove estuaries are gone, leaving the bare earth to wash away into the sea.
Access to the planting projects is hard and takes some time. As a lot of the nurseries have been built in rural villages using the local people bringing much needed income.
The original project was launched in Madagascar in 2007 which was to restore ecologically devastated mangrove estuaries in the northwest of the country. Mangrove forests are essential ecosystems whose dense roots serve as an anchor for the soil and coastline preventing erosion and creating a barrier between harsh ocean systems and land. What began as primarily mangrove restoration and reforestation in 2007 grew to include a variety of native dry deciduous species in 2012.
Eden Projects partners include two National Park systems, which aim to reforest and revive natural habitat for endangered and endemic animal species.
Mangrove reforestation and restoration projects
Provide stability against erosion and improve ocean and coral reef health
Over 2.7 million mangrove trees planted every month
Tropical dry deciduous forest and the home to 8 species of endangered lemurs
Dry deciduous projects to reforest land devastated by slash and burn practices
Provide stability to the land and protect against erosion and flooding
Restore and expand vital animal habitat
Madagascar has some of the most unique and diverse wildlife on the planet. And the loss of habitat with Madagascar’s forest is putting them in danger.