A couple of lemurs rest in the shade of a public park in Antananarivo
© AFP/File Marco Longari

ANKARAFANTSIKA, Madagascar (AFP) - Madagascar, though, is pinning its hopes on turning this tragic fact on its head.

By encouraging smart, environmentally-sensitive tourism, it hopes to muster funds vital for development and also nurture the wildlife that earns it the title of the "Noah's Ark" of the Indian Ocean.

Rene Razafindrajary lists the rare kinds of lemurs, birds and fish found in Ankarafantsika, an park of 1,250 square kilometers (500 square miles) comprising dry tropical forest rich with rosewood and ebony.

They are just part of the dazzling inventory of living things in Madagascar, which by itself hosts five percent of the world's known species.

"This protected area shelters an absolutely unrivaled biodiversity," he said in his office on the edge of the iconic site, located 460 kilometres (285 miles) northeast of the capital Antananarivo.

The forest is not just an area of rare and exquisite beauty, but is also a key water source for the Marovoay plains, where some of Madagascar's essential crops, especially rice, are grown.

Half a dozen years ago, a dark, destructive shadow was hanging over Ankarafantsika: deforestation, as poor local communities struggling to survive chopped down trees for fuel.

The National Association for the Management of Protected Areas (ANGAP) was placed in charge of the site, and opted for eco-tourism as the solution to its ills.

"Ecotourism was the best solution," said Justin Rakotoarimana, in charge of ANGAP's conservation and research branch, adding however that the novel scheme had to overcome doubt and reluctance.

-- 'They like hearing the sounds of animals at night' --

Schools and wells have already been built with the proceeds while the park has also created 50 jobs, most of which were reserved for local residents.

"I decided to become a guide when I worked out that I could be earning more than by growing rice," explained Justin Rakotoroa, who escorts visitors through the park.

Fifty percent of the park's entry fee of 25,000 ariary (around 15 dollars, or 10 euros) per head goes to local development projects, and the rest goes to conservation.

People peddle their merchandise to train passengers in Madagascar
© AFP/File Gregoire Pourtier

Last year, 5,500 tourists visited Ankarafantsika, many of them well-heeled visitors from Europe.

Park officials said the tourists were generally very enthusiastic about their experience and, after being briefed about the eco-tourism policy, accepted paying entry fees that were higher than expected.

"We don't offer all modern amenities but the foreigners who come here are not bothered by this. They like sleeping in tents and hearing the sounds of animals at night," said Vanona Rafam'andriajafy, in charge of the project's tourism activities.

From the conservationist perspective, the results speak for themselves: 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of forest were chopped down in 1998 but barely 40 hectares (100 acres) in 2007.

The picture isn't entirely rosy, though.

Trade stutters from season to season, there are gripes among those who say they are excluded from the scheme, and the future of a key source of finance, from a German cooperation fund, is uncertain beyond year's end.

"We have everything we need to produce good quality and in large quantities, but we're lacking a large enough market," said a woman at a weaving workshop set up at the park entrance to manage the harvest of raffia, or palm fibre, and manufacture souvenirs sold to the tourists.

"In the low tourist season, we don't sell anything."

"Those who benefit directly from the scheme are very happy but the others are not and it is difficult for them to play by the new rules," a park employee said privately.

©AFP