ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

CASE STUDY

The conservation of littoral forests in Madagascar

Background

Madagascar has been identified as one of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots, with very high species richness and high degrees of endemism - the occurrence of species found nowhere else. Among the country’s various threatened ecosystems, littoral forests along the sandy coastal plain have been accorded very high conservation priority.

QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) – a Malagasy company jointly owned by Rio Tinto plc, UK, and the Malagasy State, represented by the Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Stratégiques de Madagascar – intends to exploit heavy mineral sands over an area of about 6000 hectares along the coast in southeastern Madagascar over the next 50–70 years. These sands are a source of titanium dioxide. Most of the proposed mining area consists of heavily degraded ecosystems. But major deposits are also located underneath some of the last remnants of littoral forest. These forests are under severe pressure from the local populace, who depend on them for wood and charcoal for cooking and construction. Domestic and regional consumption of wood led to a loss of 60 per cent of the littoral forest cover between 1950 and 2000.

Conservation Zones in the Midst of Mining

In light of the pressures on the littoral forests in the area of interest, QMM sought to establish a comprehensive environmental programme. Its conservation and monitoring programmes are based on biodiversity surveys that identified species of special concern for conservation and on a comprehensive database on the use of natural resources by local communities.

Conservation zones on the order of 500 hectares will be established within the mining path (230 hectares have already been set aside), and another 250 hectare zone will be added outside the actual mining area. These conservation zones will serve as the centre points for recolonisation of restored habitats.

Three Main Subgroups

Based on feedback and new information, three key subgroups are working on the main issues identified as needing attention: Flora and Restoration, Fauna and Habitat and Rehabilitation. The activities are carried out by the QMM’s Environmental Conservation Unit in collaboration with the universities of Antananarivo and Tulear as well as several universities and scientific institutions outside Madagascar.

The primary goal of the rehabilitation component is to cover the needs of the local human population for natural resources. By doing so – for example, by planting industrial forests that can be used for charcoal production – some of the pressure on the natural forest ecosystems is eased.

The subgroups in charge of the maintenance and restoration of native ecosystems also include direct interactions with the local communities. They are involved with the development of beekeeping, training women in weaving, using reeds from restored marshes, and establishing circuits for ecotourism.

Examples of Tasks of Subgroups of QMM’s Environmental Conservation Unit

Flora and Restoration Subgroup

• Conduct basic botanical research (survey and monitoring)
• Research in situ and ex situ seed conservation
• Research phenology, seed harvesting and germination (seed bank)
• Conduct simulated restoration trials (littoral forest, wetlands)
• Investigate littoral forest extention (buffer zone)
• Conduct flora survey and monitoring in ecosystems outside mining zone
• Participate in watershed restoration and dune stabilisation

Fauna and Habitat Subgroup

• Coordinate zoological research (survey and monitoring)
• Elaborate biodiversity monitoring plan
• Manage conservation programmes (translocation, captive breeding, habitat restoration) for important animal species
• Establish conservation zones (with Flora and Restoration Subgroup)
• Develop ecotourism (fauna and flora circuit)
• Promote alternative activities with communities (ecotourism, beekeeping, handicrafts)

Rehabilitation Subgroup

• Conduct trials and research related to the technical side of reforestation with exotic trees – fast-growing species, experimental plantations, large-scale plantations
• Train communities on natural resource management
• Set up co-management process with communities and regional authorities in the mining areas
• Elaborate community agreements and co-management documents
• Coordinate 500-hectare plantation programme off-site, ahead of mining
• Promote improved woodstoves and the use of eucalyptus charcoal

The main task of the Flora and Restoration Subgroup and the Fauna and Habitat Subgroup, however, concerns the maintenance and restoration of the original biodiversity and communities. This includes approaches on five different levels:

• On the community level, they study ecosystem structures and ecosystem functions. For this, they document species and distributions and they study species interactions (pollination, seed dispersal, phenology, succession, decomposition and so on) in relation to abiotic conditions, habitat degradation and fragmentation.
• On the population level, the dynamics of selected species are monitored in fragmented habitats. The population dynamics are related to the presence of introduced species and their role as possible competitors or vectors for disease transmission.
• On the species level, ecological aspects of habitat requirements and the physiological consequences of living in different habitats are studied for important species (such as local endemics or umbrella species).
• On the genetic level, the present genetic constitutions of different populations are documented with coding and non-coding genes.
• On the individual level, the genetic constitution (represented by the major histocompatibility complex) is linked to parasite resistance and its implication for population dynamics.

As these activities are evaluated and modified periodically, they will provide the quantitative bases for long-term monitoring of the conservation success of a large mining operation in a developing country while using and actually anticipating the standards formulated to achieve ‘best practice’ in mining operations.