Fighting for the future of a vanishing forest
Mangabe-Ranomena-Sahasarotra Protected Area, known as Mangabe Reserve, is a biodiversity jewel in a country deeply affected by the over-exploitation of nature. We have teamed up with Madagasikara Voakajy to protect this vital region, home to lemurs, rare frogs and many other iconic Malagasy species.
Mangabe Reserve was set up in 2015 to protect more than 27,000 hectares of precious Malagasy habitat. The ecosystems within the reserve play host to numerous species that are Critically Endangered or Endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. These include the golden mantella frog (Mantella aurantiaca) indri lemurs (Indri indri), diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema), and Aye ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis).
This precious and biodiverse region also plays a critical role in supporting Malagasy communities, with more than 15,000 people living in the reserve. The reserve itself includes a strictly protected zone, where human activity is restricted, and a sustainable use zone, where people can make use of forest resources.
Despite being recognised as a protected area, Mangabe’s forest cover continues to decrease. In 2023 alone, Mangabe lost 2550ha (7% of its total area) due to human activity like timber extraction, and has now been identified as the most at risk Protected Area in Madagascar.
If this rate of deforestation continues, Mangabe’s forest will be completely lost within 10 years and vital ecosystem functions will collapse within three years. These losses affect both plant and animal biodiversity and the welfare of the people living in the area.
To remedy this, Chester Zoo is offering extensive support to Madagasikara Voakajy, a Malagasy conservation team dedicated to forest restoration and the creation of sustainable livelihoods.
The zoo offers financial support, fundraising guidance and skill-sharing opportunities with the Madagasikara team, who carry out a diverse and interconnected series of conservation activities in the Mangabe area.
Examples of the work done at Mangabe include:
Offering literacy sessions for people in Mangabe communities. More than 60 households have participated, allowing them access to new livelihood opportunities and increased environmental knowledge
Organising a sewing course, so community members can supplement their income in a forest-friendly way by producing seed pouches and selling items to visitors. Many participants are now part of a sewing cooperative
Training around 200 young people to engage in eco-friendly entrepreneurship
Offering composting techniques and agricultural rotation training for more than 400 households, helping reduce their dependency on forest resources
Training and equipping patroller teams to enforce forest protection policies and monitor forest use
Forming an enforcement committee that represents multiple communities to raise awareness of forest over-exploitation and to monitor and enforce forest restoration policy
Training community based organisations to run awareness campaigns over land regulations within the protected area
Identifying and developing forest restoration sites overseen by community based organisations, and equipping nursery workers to propagate plants
Surveying the Mangabe region to identify areas for passive and active restoration of forest cover
We also support the Madigasikara team to carry out animal and plant surveys on the ground. Planned or conducted population and distribution studies cover species such as Mantidactylus grandidieri (frogs) and various reptile species, including chameleons (Calumma nasutum, Brookesia), lizards (Phelsuma madagascariensis), and snakes (Archantophis, Sanzinia).
These studies aim to provide baseline data on population sizes and distributions to monitor changes over time and inform conservation strategies.
For instance, 2023 to 2024 surveys of the Golden Mantella frog populations showed a worrying 27% drop in the population. Madagasikara Voakajy and Chester Zoo experts believe this is driven by slash and burn agriculture, which has degraded the frogs’ habitats.
This information will be used to refocus conservation work in key areas. Meanwhile, Chester Zoo is involved in a conservation breeding project at the zoo itself, providing an insurance population of these Critically Endangered amphibians.
The team has also carried out bioacoustic surveys of indri lemurs to better understand the species’ distribution in the Mangabe area.
This has yielded interesting scientific data about indri lemur calls and their behaviour which should aid in lemur conservation, and the methods used to track them can be used to monitor other lemur species in future.
The Mangabe Protected Area is a rich landscape, and one of the last strongholds of natural Malagasy forest.
Its ecological health is being eroded by complex pressures, but Madagasikara Voakajy, with support from Chester Zoo, is deploying a range of solutions that are already showing promising results. Together, we can protect this biodiversity hotspot.
