Page 8 - Madagascar Report

Improving the data foundation

There are a number of areas where the knowledge gaps hinder the most appropriate management
of the mangrove resource in Madagascar. Most especially how the habitats are responding to the
changing climate and new threats. There is opportunity to carry out studies to fill these gaps in support
of science-based policy and decision making. Engaging universities, research and international
institutions should be explored (WWF, 2020).

Country Profile
Strengthening the policy, legal and institutional framework
The Malagasy Constitution provides for environment conservation, including the management of
mangroves and this is incorporated in the environmental legislation. There is need to improve the
implementation of the environment law in the face of various human and natural pressures.
The Republic of Madagascar

To that end, the community-based management natural resources law (GELOSE Law 96-025 of 30
September 1996) was enacted. It apportions the management of forests (including mangroves) from
the government to the local community. Environmental Impact Assessment for all new and big projects
with possible impact on the environment is required under Decree n° 99-954 of 1999 (modified by
Decree n° 2004-167 of 2004) and this affords further protection to mangroves. The Fisheries Law
2015 in Article 112 provides that the establishment of aquaculture must under no circumstances
result in the destruction of more than 10 per cent of mangroves within the surface of exploitation.

The institutional framework for mangroves includes the Ministry of the Environment, Ecology and
Forests (MEEF), the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MRHP) and the Ocean Directorate
which share the decision-making processes related to mangroves.

Madagascar is signatory of and participates in international agreements and fora. For instance, in
the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) the country aims to restore 35,000 ha of
primary forests and mangroves by 2020; and from 45,000 to 55,000 ha by 2030.

Sustainable f?sheries
The challenge

Geographic isolation, widespread poverty, and over-dependence on fishing as a livelihood make the
Malagasy coastal communities vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Despite the abundant
fish, food security is very high. There is need to study the fishing potential of the Malagasy waters
and deliberately implement a policy to address food security in the country. The fishing culture in the
country must also be addressed with more sustainable fishing methods being encouraged.

The situation

Growing f?sheries industry
The vast Madagascan EEZ and coastline makes the region suitable for fish production. Marine
fisheries dominate, but about 75 per cent of the national fish production is from small scale and
entails subsistence, artisanal and recreational fishing. Fishing is concentrated on the western coast of
Madagascar. The rate of fish capture has been on the rise over the years. In 1950, it was estimated at
13,800 tonnes annually rising almost 900 per cent to 137,000 tonnes in 2017. This includes catches
of tuna and tuna-like species by distant-water fleets within Madagascan waters. These distant-water

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