The Parc Ivaloinia project
Parc Ivaloina is home to a rich array of Malagasy species, many of which are threatened by habitat loss elsewhere in the country, including several lemur species and a host of amphibians and reptiles. We have joined forces with multiple partners to help safeguard its biodiversity.
Parc Ivaloina is a unique biodiversity hotspot near the east coast of Madagascar. It is run by the Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group, with whom we have an established partnership.
The 282-hectare area is a haven for Malagasy species which are facing serious challenges elsewhere in Madagascar as their habitats become increasingly fragmented due to human development.
These precarious and precious pockets of habitat are also under threat from climate change and forest fires, making protected areas like Parc Ivaloina increasingly vital. Plant species, and the animals who depend on them, are vanishing at an alarming rate.
At the same time, this region is under-researched and hosts plant species still undescribed to science. Deforestation is occurring so quickly in Madagascar that it’s possible we are losing ‘undiscovered’ species right now. Without recognition and protection, it is impossible to save those species teetering on the edge of extinction.
We are helping to preserve vital and vanishing native tree species in partnership with Missouri Botanical Garden and the Madagascar Research and Conservation Program.
The team at Parc Ivaloina have a track record of nurturing threatened Malagasy plants, having propagated 90 threatened trees varieties. These are now growing at the Parc and include the Critically Endangered Melanophylla dianeae, Pentachlaena betamponensis, Schizolaena laurina, Dypsis carlsmithii, Melanophylla modestii, and Leptolaena raymondii.
We support the Parc Ivaloina team to build on this by growing the collection. For instance, we are helping them take seed samples from four newly discovered tree species and propagate them at the park. Investigations are now ongoing to establish the taxological status of these trees, but it is clear all four are threatened and may be lost from the wild within a few years unless they are established within a protected area.
By growing them at Parc Ivaloina, we can provide a safety net for the species. We know this practice on its own is not enough, but it provides Madagascar’s future conservationists a chance to restore some of the species lost from the wild one day. In the meantime, we are also working with the Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group to protect existing animal life at Parc Ivaloina.
The Parc itself is currently a haven free from key invasive species, particularly the toxic Asian toad, which represents a threat to native amphibians and to human health.
The Asian toad’s presence in the eastern Madagascar port town of Toamasina was confirmed by the scientific community in March 2014 and was then estimated at around 7,000,000 individuals spread over a 108 km2 area.
Since then, Asian toad distribution has quadrupled and is rapidly moving from nature-depleted land into new areas. It now threatens complex and biodiverse habitats, and Parc Ivaloina is in the path of its predicted expansion.
Asian toads are known to out-compete native frog species and poison both humans and native predators, which, aside from the risk to individuals, has the potential to seriously unbalance the ecosystem.
Chester Zoo supported the recent creation of an Asian toad exclusion zone by providing funding, expertise and hands on the ground. Like Malagasy plants, there are amphibian species that live only in highly restricted areas.
Of the 18 types of frogs in Parc Ivaloina, five are endemic (only found in the Parc) and four may be previously undescribed species and are likely to be Critically Endangered.
The monitored exclusion zone is designed to stop Asian toads entering the Parc and protect the species within its borders. The trial phase of this time-critical and ambitious project was a success, and it has now been extended across the Parc and other sites, including Betampona Reserve.
The methods that developed and evolved from its implementation could be used to protect other biodiversity islands from Asian toads and similarly invasive species elsewhere in the world.
The flora and fauna of a habitat are inextricably linked. We will continue bolstering the Parc Ivaloina team to protect both.
