Focalize to really needs of local people for resilient restoration

Mada Resilient Forestry  is a botanists’s Association who have experiences more than 10 to 30 years before having passion for ecological, biology, phytosociology and recently about vegetal restoration and local community help. We have been working : on Biology and ecology of the forests ecosystems (humid forest and dry forest, savannah, wetlands zone, mangroves etc…) and especially for threatened plants species. We are passionate about plants, their life, their ecosystems (terrestrial, wetland zones and marine ecosystem), their health, their connection to humans, their future in the face of climate change for resilience. We work voluntarily in the educational botanical garden "Vololona" of the Ambondrona university campus which is in a way our headquarters. It is a garden that we created in 2018, which collectionnes endemic or non-endemic plants, traditional medicinal plants, cosmetic plants, ornamental plants and endemic trees, whether threatened or not, and for student practices and visitors apprehension and sensibilization. The botanic garden has the « innovation responsible label francophone from the Agence Francophone Universitaire » on 2021, within his project about Traditional medicinal plants used during covid-19, to prevent covid-19 on 2019. So, all plants used by people in Mahjanga city and surrounding are collectioned on the botanic garden. They can used as tools to sensibilize all people and students who don’t know what exactly the plants in question are when on life, growing, because they use plants as an essential oil or a fragment of stem or dry leaves. This cans reasons to sensibilize Malagasy people and can helps for resilience and conservation. The botanic garden is also the site for creation nursery for forest restoration. It’s the case of the forest restoration this year 2024, the botanic garden have created 4200 endemic plants for forest Antsanitia restoration.

1 – COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Mada Resilient forestry Association was born from a local initiative by teachers researchers botanists and doctoral students, following knowledge of the existence of an EXTINCTION endemic palm species (Tahina spectabilis) (see his association statute). In its local habitat in Antsingilava Analalava, there remained only 30 individuals of this unique species in the world, in collaboration with local populations, (purchasing seeds in order to provide them with money for the renovation of their school,.. . and their conservation awareness). 100 seeds at 6000 MGA were purchased from local populations, 10 of which germinated. This is also where the idea of creating a botanical garden on campus was born. In fact, the seedlings from the germinated seeds were raised on site in the garden. Currently, we have around forty of this palm, around ten of which will be restored to their natural environment. Since then, we have continued with this approach. Indeed, we are convinced that local communities are best placed to define and implement the solution to the degradation of their natural ecosystem.

We’d been working on the restoration of degraded tropical forest ecosystems in the west of Madagascar in Mahajanga since 2013, in surrounding of the city, Savannah Marohogo and Antsanitia forest. A project with local people (women in Boanamary region who are depending on mangroves for their financial ressources, by collecting cocoon silk from hote of Avicennia marina in the mangroves of Boambetoka Mahajanga ) was realized about mangroves restoration on 2017. So, our goal was to advise local people, how to restore mangroves and what species would be best for the restoration, depending on substrate mangroves. This year 2026, we’re working with local people to restore a dry forest and to search the strategy for the success of the restoration with HUMAN life in harmony of nature. We’re focalized with the restoration need of local people by restore fruits trees, wood with fast growing for exploitation, which attend their need and restore in parallel tree forest

2 – CONNECTING PEOPLE AND NATURE

We’re the initiative of the creation of the Educative botanic garden « Vololona Ranjamalala », (1 ha of area) at the Campus of the Mahajanga University, lead the president of the Mada Resilient Forestry’s association. This botanic garden has obtained the label responsible innovation on 2021 – 2023 with his innovation (all plants used by local people in Mahajanga, during covid 19 are collectioned in the botanic garden and for the sensibilisation of the Malagasy people. on collaboration with an another ONG which’s working about restoration since 2023 and créate 4200 nursery for Antsanitia forest restoration in the Educative Botanical Garden and their restoration in Antsanitia forest this year 2024, with the University of Mahajanga Team, our association is the lead of the project. on obtention of the University’s forest with 47 ha area on 2019 and his restoration ;

Unfortunately, a part of this area are burnt last year, because there’s no local people association to take care of the forest area. So, now we’re organizing a meeting exchanges and sensibilization with local people,

4 – SECTORAL PARTNERSHIP Our teams work with different stakeholders (private sector, public sector, scientific community, civil society organization, etc.) to create synergy between them. This then makes it possible to provide financial, structural and technical support for sustainable environmental management and the fight against climate change.

 5 – NORTH-SOUTH EXCHANGE The association is open to various north-south collaborations. Populations residing in developing countries are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, trees planted in these countries have a much higher carbon capture rate and generate food and economic resources for these populations who are the first to suffer from global warming.

The challenge stems from the unregulated demand for timber (for construction, charcoal, etc.) by local communities, which leads to forest degradation and uncontrolled burning during charcoal production. Two scenarios exist: a fragmented forest managed by a local community association (VOI) and a forest fragment not managed by a VOI. The latter caught fire in 2025. Through awareness-raising efforts by the MadaResilient Forestry association (AlaTsiMaReFo) and the implementation of research-to-action initiatives, local communities will form an association. Access to the burned site for charcoal production is prohibited under local law; a firebreak will be constructed for both cases.

We’re here to grant our experiences scientific research on science application and action. We’ll focalize our accompagnement with scientific research knowledge application in action: choice the species trees need by local people (with fast growing) for restoration as a canopy for forest tree restoration. These trees can be exploited after three or four years and forest restoration will continue with success. Local people can have activities regeneratives which will depend on their work and their success. MOU will be made between the association MadaResilient Forestry and local people about all policy and between local people which will be created for managing the fragment of forest of the University of Mahajanga.

We can conclude that to focalize on the local people need can obtain a win-win on our project : local people - financial support - association Madaresilient forestry - resilience : human in harmony with nature.