CONSERVATION OF BAOBAB ADANSONIA GRANDIDIERI IN MADAGASCAR

Six of the eight species of baobab tree, often called the “upside down tree” due to its unique shape, are endemic to Madagascar and all are of conservation concern. The Global Trees Campaign is helping the Madagascan NGO Madagasikara Voakajy to research the status and threats to one of these flagship species and to work with local communities and authorities to protect remaining individuals.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Baobabs, with their distinctive shape, are one of the most charismatic group of trees in the world. Six out of the eight species of baobab are endemic to Madagascar, three are classified as Endangered and three are Near Threatened.

PROJECT UPDATE: 2011

In 2011 further data was gathered on Grandidier’s baobab populations and condition, with 102 survey transects, each 1 km long, conducted. A total of 1,310 Grandidier’s baobabs were measured and exploitation level recorded.

Two village baobab protection associations have been established. In one village 21 association members each adopted a single mature baobab, which they marked and aim to protect from exploitation and felling. Madagasikara Voakajy initiated monitoring of 20 unmarked baobabs as a control, to evaluate the impact of the village protection scheme. 200 baobab seedlings were donated to the association and 167 have been planted out to date.

The data and information gathered so far all fed in to a two day workshop in Morondava in June 2011. This was attended by a multitude of local stakeholders, including the Ministry of Environment and Forests, local NGOs, the Chair of the IUCN/SSC Madagascar Plant Specialist Group and representatives from relevant government departments. The workshop resulted in a revised status review and a jointly agreed five-year Species Conservation Strategy, which clearly sets out the actions needed to improve the conservation of A. grandidieri.

FIRST PHASE: 2008-2010

In 2008, working through FFI’s partner in Madagascar, Madagasikara Voakajy, the Global Trees Campaign initiated work on one of Madagascar’s baobab species, Grandidier's Baobab Adansonia grandidieri. Listed as Endangered, this species has a very limited distribution in eastern Madagascar, where it is threatened by fire, slash-and-burn farming, over-grazing (which inhibits regeneration) and damage from bark removal by local communities.

Currently, a new suite of protected areas is being established in Madagascar. One of these, Menabe Central, will cover at least some of the area where Adansonia grandidieri occurs. This offers a unique opportunity for conservation of the species, but measures specifically addressing the tree are so far lacking in the park’s developing management plans. There is also an opportunity to promote the inclusion of sacred sites with baobabs in other new protected areas currently being proposed.

In its first phase, the project worked to gather much-needed information on the status, impacts of human use and habitat changes of Adansonia grandidieri. This information was analysed and presented and discussed at a regional workshop held in Morondava in November 2009. The workshop was attended by all the stakeholders, including community representatives and two key people from Antananarivo, one from the Ministry of the Environment and Forests and the other the Chair of the IUCN Specialist Group for Malagasy Plants. The workshop issued a declaration outlining priority needs for the conservation and sustainable use of the species.

   •  Meetings will be held with community leaders to discuss the results of the surveys and discuss ways to reduce harvesting of baobab bark and to promote seedling regeneration through grazing control and the development of nurseries. Awareness activities will also be conducted in schools in the area.

   •  The relevant government authorities will be lobbied and assistance provided to incorporate the recommendations from the work into the developing management plan for Menabe Central Protected Area. Other unprotected sacred sites with baobabs will be recommended for inclusion in Madagascar’s new suite of protected areas as Category III (IUCN) Protected Areas.

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