From John Parsler
'Since Phillipe de Commerson announced in 1771 that Madagascar is a 'naturalists' promised land' the island has been visited by its share of ornithologists, primatologists, mammologists, herpetologists and specialists of all kinds. They have sought out the interesting and rare, catalogued 'new' species, described extinct species and confirmed time and time again this place, this ' land apart', separated from the rest of the world by 100 million years of evolution in a natural-history super-league.
Despite this and despite our knowledge of the island's frightening rates of forest loss and 'biological decline' few people seem to come to study processes - both ecological and of human/environmental interaction. There are many reasons for this, most of which are legitimate, but if Madagascar's remaining biological wealth is to be conserved, more should be done to understand how complex cultural, political and economic factors impact on species and habitats. The Andrew Lees Memorial Trust is helping to support a new initiative that will do just that.
Project Madagascar 1998, part funded by the Trust, will establish the nature of small mammal communities in part of the previously unsurveyed Tsitongambarika rain forest in Southern Madagascar. Small mammals, for example members of the tenrecidae and muridae, are often overlooked in conservation work, yet many species are endemic and endangered. Some are entirely dependent on dwindling forest environments.
This data, which is part of a wider research effort by staff at the University of Central Lancashire will be integrated with others relating to forest flora, land use practices and the socio-economics of forest use. This will begin to build a picture of how and why human driven ecological change is occurring and what its impacts on endemic and endangered species are.
The site chosen for the study is in forest above the village of Tamboro -home to several thousand people - all of whom rely to a certain extent on the forested hills. As in the rest of the country the forest is a store of nutrients an efficient water catchment cover that feeds rice fields, and a source of timber, medicines and wild food.
Unfortunately some 60% of the villages water catchment has already been cleared of forest for agriculture - seriously affecting the rice harvest. The remaining 40% is a complex mosaic of lush green primary forest, secondary scrub and patches of high forest underplanted with coffee. It is in these patches that the mammal communities will be studied.
The support of the Andrew Lees Trust has enabled the project to include a strong training and development function. Students from the University of Antananarivo, Technicians from the local offices of WWF and ANGAP (the local Malagasy conservation agency) and staff and technicians from Madagascar's National Zoological and Botanical gardens will all pass through and take part in a series of workshops on ecological surveying methods. At the invitation of the local teachers a series of school visits will also take place. Local people are actively supporting the initiative and will be an integral part of the team.
The project is a joint collaboration between the Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza, University of Antananarivo, University of Central Lancashire, and Manchester Metropolitan University. '
Phil and Dianne Mulligan
Last November, Phil and Dianne Mulligan stayed at the Centre en route to Evatra Village, where Phil was conducting anthropological research into native land rights.
The Centre provided a base for their fortnightly visits back to Fort Dauphin and Mark Fenn was able to put them in contact with an excellent translator and other local people who were able to help during their stay.
The Andrew Lees Trust provided £200 for translation of social surveys and other documents, essential to Phil's research. Below, Dianne describes her impressions of Fort Dauphin and their stay at the Centre:
Life at Libanona - from Dianne Mulligan
When I saw Andrew I realised he wasn't quite straight. I carefully positioned his photo so that I was staring straight at his smiling face. I said hello and told him about my news: about life in the village of Evatra, contracting cerebral malaria and my plans to write a book.
When my husband and I first arrived in Madagascar we used the Ecology Centre at Libanona as a base from which to find a suitable fieldwork site. When we found one - the village of Evatra - we came in from the bush and visited the Centre on a regular basis. Each time I always popped up to see Andrew s photograph on the wall of the classroom and have a chat, often recalling the times I worked with him at Friends of the Earth. He was one of the most inspirational people I ve ever met. So much so that his initial work in Madagascar influenced me enough to persuade my husband to consider its potential as a case study site for his 6 months PhD fieldwork. Indeed, we both felt honoured to be able to continue Andrew s work albeit in an academic way.
In October 1997 Fort Dauphin was hot, windy and overcast. We left the English autumn with crunchy leaves, woolly scarves and crispy apples, to find Fort Dauphin offering ripe bananas, papayas and sun block.
A rough sandy track from the town centre takes you to what is essentially a giant sand dune peninsular known as Libanona. Our initial base was an idyllic bungalow surrounded by pine trees in which to acclimatise. Fortunately the hot dry winds kept the temperature of 30 degrees tolerable for our virgin European skins, and the nearby sea a place to cool off. In one direction we had a beautiful beach: one of the best in southern Madagascar.
It s the type of beach you see on the front of honeymoon brochures: palm trees, warm turquoise water off a gently sloping shelf, a discrete bar selling cold beer and on first glance white sand. However, on closer inspection the sand has thin black veins running through it giving a marbled effect.
These black streaks are the mineral ilmenite which contains the much sought after industrial whitener titanium dioxide. The sand is also pockmarked with the homes of hundreds of hermit crabs which can be seen at night by torchlight scuttling across the sand. There are the most fantastic sunsets to be seen from the bungalows where the sun dips down behind an imposing mountain range some 500 metres above sea level that provides the backdrop of Fort Dauphin.
In the other direction is the raw, reefed coastline of the Indian Ocean where humpbacked whales can be seen swimming and playing with their young in October. Occasionally they would breach the surface and display their massive grey bellies. Dolphins and turtles also share this vast ocean but need to be seen more closely by boat.
Ten minutes walk from our bungalow on the edge of the Libanona Ecology Centre is a tranquil lagoon situated under a ledge whose coral reef separated it from the crashing ocean. Under the water is an incredible world of movement and colour to explore. There are fuschia and black anemones with spines like porcupine quills, wafting with the surging tide and a vermillion of starfish that span the sandy bottom. Corals of pink, violet and bright brittle white stretch their gnarled fingers through its saline sky.
Three craters of brain coral provide a feeding ground for turquoise and opaque vertically striped fish which oscillate gently between schools of tiny jade sparks of life. Two angel fish the colour of egg yolk and black ink chased each other darting between coral fans. The approach of our hands, wrinkled with water, make black oval fish covered in blue dots recoil like the end of a cracked whip. Other large black lacquered fish retreat more slowly reversing into the folds of coral safe in their sanctuary.
We are scared but curious to dive down and glimpse the well-camouflaged scorpion fish, which reacts to our presence by fanning out its spines and producing an umbrella edged array of pinks and reds. It was almost impossible to wade out of the lagoon without treading on the sand-coloured sea slugs that blend into their surroundings so well. When provoked they send out spectacular plumes of dense purple or black ink scaring off their would-be attackers. The experience was so irresistable I have to go back again and again to discover yet more.
It is this feeling that stays with me now, the feeling of wanting to go back, of wanting more, of discovery and richness. The Libanona Ecology Centre has so much to offer, not only to western visitors, academics and ecologists, but essentially and most importantly to the local people. It is a peaceful environment and yet has so many stimulating resources both in its natural location and in the library and classrooms.
Impressions - Chris Orengo and Ted Lees Meet Students at the Centre
The first time I travelled back to Fort Dauphin was a year after Andrew's death - to watch the dedication of the first building and Meeting House to Andrew's memory. It was a profoundly moving experience.
In November last year, I travelled back to Fort Dauphin again, with Andrew s Father, Ted, my sister Yvonne and Angela from Friends of the Earth. It was an emotional but inspiring visit for us all. I was very impressed by the all the improvements since my last visit. The library had been set up with textbooks shipped over from University College and Mark told us, was now one of the best resources for environmental books in the south of the country. It was a difficult journey for Ted. Apart from the discomfort of the heat, we spent nearly two days getting there. That's a long time when your 74!
On the day of our arrival, we headed straight out to the beach to meet students on the coastal ecosystems course. They were scattered along the reef which fringes the Libanona bay. Scurrying across the rocks with nets and buckets, dipping into pools and inspecting strange, giant, slug-like, marine invertebrates which ooze brilliant black ink. Surveys were being conducted all along the coastline and the students were monitoring the population of a host of different species.
Samples were carefully placed in plastic buckets for inspection back at the Centre. I was struck by their focus and enthusiasm. Also by the way they helped each other, working diligently whilst having a great deal of fun. Some of the UK students I've taught would certainly benefit from joining one of these programs!
Later that day, students collected in small groups on the verandahs of the Libanona classrooms and dormitory houses, identifying species and drawing beautifully coloured maps of the shoreline, showing where the different populations were found. There are still no microscopes nor equipment for any detailed analysis at the Centre, so students make use of whatever they can find and spend hours poring over the text books to try and distinguish different marine animals. We could hear many animated conversations as we wandered around the site, peering into buckets and admiring drawings.
The next day was an early start. The students were visiting the village at Petriky, to meet the villagers and learn about the methods they use for farming and fishing. It was barely daylight when we all clambered into the four-wheel drive that would take us along the often-flooded, uneven track out to Petriky. This is one of the last remaining littoral forests and will be the first forest to disappear if titanium mining goes ahead, as planned, in a few years time.
But in the meantime, the forests and villagers are also under threat from the terrible poverty that forces many to cut the trees for fuel and to plant rice. These paddy fields can rarely be sustained as the soil is too poor and erosion caused by cutting the trees often results in flooding and other problems for the farmers.
Nearly three hours later, we have to walk the last few kilometres, as the track peters out at the edge of the forest. We skirt along the edge, watching giant dragonflies and intensely coloured insects darting into the forest mindless of the intense heat within. As we approach the village, children shout and wave from the hilllside, which slopes down into the forest, and then scamper off to tell the Elders of our arrival.
We cut through the forest for the last few metres emerging into the clearing, which is the village of Loharano. There are about thirty small wooden huts with thatched roofs, some of which may be home for up to three generations of villagers. The Elders greet us with great formality and mats are fetched from one of the huts so that we can all sit outside for our discussions.
The students have prepared questions on many topics - what fish can be caught here?, how far do they travel to gather wood for fuel?, what can they grow? how often do they walk into Fort Dauphin (nearly five hours along the beach!) to sell fish and vegetables.
The students introduce themselves and the discussions begin. This is just the first meeting and so we sit for several hours, in the strong sun, whilst the students gather as much information as possible, offer suggestions and describe the work of the Centre. They hope they will be allowed to visit again and perhaps establish some projects to help improve yields. The students speak quietly, respectfully, carefully recording all the answers and opinions, before moving on to the next topic.
As we leave, the children follow us for a long time, giggling and singing together. Beautiful harmonies.
© The Andrew Lees Trust 1995 - 2008