Investigation into the Global
Trade in Malagasy Precious Woods by Global Witness
and the Environmental Investigation Agency
MadaMyLov
is a site dedicated to the beauty of Madagascar.
"The Great Red Island" is the fourth largest island in the world and is a land of sheer beauty. Ringed by golden beaches and date-palm trees, the interior varies from grassy plateaus, to volcanoes, and impenetrable equatorial forests. It is lush with a great variety of fruits such as mangos, grapes, peaches, peals, pineapples, avocados, and lichee nuts. All about are colorful flowers in abundance: orchids, violets, and mimosa «« Read More »
Recent News from Madagascar
15 October 2011 (Mail & Guardian South Africa)
Malagasy politicians have collectively agreed on how to implement a road map for ending a leadership crisis in the country, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) policy, defence and security organ said on Saturday. The agreement, signed on Friday, allows for a prime minister appointment of consensus on November 1, as well as the appointment of transitional government and Parliament members on November 17.
The first act of Parliament at the end of November would be to ratify the road map. Following that would be the formation of a new independent electoral commission.
Madagascar's National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said its latest five-yearly household survey (Enquête Périodique Auprès des Ménages), showed higher poverty levels, especially in rural areas, where about 80 percent of the 20 million population live.
Using a $230 individual annual income benchmark as the poverty line, INSTAT reported that nationwide poverty increased from 68.7 percent in 2005 to 76.5 percent in 2010, while rural poverty rose from 73.5 percent to 82.2 percent. A rising income disparity between urban and rural populations was highlighted. "When you think that the years before the crisis were growth years, this shows poverty has increased by nine percent in just two years, which is directly attributable to the domestic political crisis and compounded by the global economic crisis," the head of a leading international institution in Madagascar, who declined to be named, told IRIN. commission.
Anecdotal evidence of the increasing numbers of commercial sex workersand growing homelessness in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, is providing a snapshot of a country’s descent into deeper poverty.
In March 2009 Andry Rajoelina deposed President Marc Ravalomanana with the help of the military, the imposition of international sanctions, the cancellation of preferential trade agreements and the withdrawal of international aid are driving up the social indicators of desperation. bout 150,000 people in the capital working directly and indirectly for textile factories became unemployed after the USA cancelled the country’s membership of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on 31 December 2009, following Rajoelina’s coup.
AGOA, which effectively supported almost half of Madagascar’s $600m textile industry in 2008, gave the country duty-free access to US markets.
Oil and gas group Afren (LON:AFR) has secured government approval to assume operatorship and increase its interest in Block 1101, onshore Madagascar, to 90 percent. The move is a substantial increase on Afren’s existing 40 percent stake and comes with a commitment to a revised work programme which will see the first two exploration phases combined and the acquisition of an additional 150km of 2D seismic data. Afren has also undertaken to drill one commitment exploration well, which is planned for 2012.
Osman Shahenshah, Afren’s chief executive, said: “We see tremendous prospectivity in Madagascar and now, as operator, are keen to explore our high potential acreage. We are grateful to OMNIS and the Malagasy authorities for their endorsement and approval of this transaction and extended work program. We look forward to collaborating with our hosts and partner Candax in the ongoing exploration at Block 1101, and to further establishing Afren’s long term commitment to this exciting exploration play.”
Madagascar is evolving into a major transit point for drug trafficking, an official has said. Pastor Herisolo Ramandrosoa, the national coordinator of the anti-drugs and alcohol agency Malagasy Bleu Cross (CBM), said the island state was becoming an important destination for cocaine and heroin from other countries. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mauritius, Kenya and Guinea have been known to be other major transit points for drug traffickers.
Trying to maintain a positive attitude, we attempt to fish in water hyacinth-covered Lake Ravelobe, but it is to no avail. With hardly any open water, there is simply no way to pull a seine net or to deploy our gill nets, and I am able to catch only introduced tilapia in my hand-held dip nets. We have been told by the research station director that local fishermen could be hired to fish the deeper water by boat; however, it is the weekend, and the office charged with granting such a permit to fish this lake within Ankarafantsika National Park is closed. Given the poor condition of the lake, I am dubious as to whether native cichlids could survive in the more or less stagnant water.
Madagascar's security chiefs said on Tuesday they firmly opposed the return of exiled former president Marc Ravalomanana, as urged by southern African leaders, and would act against it.
"The Malagasy security forces composed of the army, the national gendarmerie and the national police ... firmly oppose the immediate return of former president Marc Ravalomanana to preserve public order and security," they told reporters.
"The forces of order express their determination to take all measures necessary to put this declaration into effect," they said.
The ex-minister is accused of having obtained 6 billion Ariary from Chinese economic operators in the eastern town of Toamasina through various intermediaries. The Chinese businessmen who fulfilled every requirement for the export of rosewood decided to report the minister and other economic operators after they failed to deliver containers of rosewood. The newspaper reported that the accused asked the court to dismiss charges against him. Exportation of rosewood was banned last year through a decree from the government. Illegal trade in this precious tree has, however, increased in the last few years, costing the state $52 million in 2009 alone.
Madagascar’s efforts to gain international recognition seem to be paying off with the report that UK will soon reopen its embassy in the country. The closure of the UK embassy in Antananarivo occurred under the Labour government of Mr Tony Blair that transferred the whole consulate service to the neighbouring Mauritius islands.
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Tuesday received the self-styled President of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina. Rajoelina seized power in March 2009, overthrowing the democratically elected president, Marc Ravalomanana. Subsequent attempts by a team headed by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano to mediate a return of Madagascar to constitutional rule have so far come to nothing, thanks to Rajoelina's intransigence. Rajoelina has refused to implement agreements he signed up to at meetings held in Maputo and Addis Ababa with Ravalomanana and two other former presidents, Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy. As a result Madagascar remains suspended from both the African Union and the Southern African Development Community.
Conservationists say a 'Tortoise Mafia' is driving Madagascar's tortoises to extinction. Armed gangs of up to 100 have been sweeping the countryside for their slow-moving prey. They say insatiable appetites at home for the meat and as pets in booming Asian markets are leaving species such as the Radiated Tortoise close to extinction. Formerly protected under a cultural taboo among local tribes in southwest Madagascar, tortoise meat used to be served up only on special occasions. Conservation groups now say immigration and poor harvests have led to massive and unsustainable consumption. They claim the streets are littered with the remnants of hundreds of pieces of tortoise shells as some communities eat the meat as a part of their daily diet.
The Zambian resort of Livingstone will be the stage on Thursday for a meeting of the troika of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Organ on Defence, Security and Political Cooperation, expected to discuss in particular the crises in Madagascar and Zimbabwe. Zambian President Rupiah Banda is the current chair of the troika, and the other two members are the Mozambican and South African presidents, Armando Guebuza and Jacob Zuma. Zuma is expected to deliver a detailed report on the situation in Zimbabwe in his capacity as the SADC facilitator in that country, who has been attempting to keep alive the Global Political Agreement signed between the ruling ZANU-PF, and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). There exists a road map to elections, agreed to by Rajoelina, the man he overthrew, Marc Ravalomanana, and two previous presidents, Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy. Prior to the holding of credible elections, there should be a transitional government and parliaments - but to date Rajoelina has prevented the establishment of these bodies.
Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest countries, has lost about US$400 million in donor support since the 17 March 2009 coup in which Andry Rajoelina, with the support of the military, deposed President Marc Ravalomanana. A World Bank report, Aid Effectiveness During Political Instability: A Look at the Social Sectors, published on the second anniversary of the island's illegal transfer of power, said donor money traditionally contributed about half the government's budget, and around 70 percent of public spending, making it "by far, the main source of funding in social sectors", but this had fallen by about $200 million a year. The political crisis, now in its third year, remains unresolved, preventing donors from reviewing their decision to freeze all aid apart from emergency funding. The African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the regional body, also cannot reinstate trade benefits and lift sanctions.
Flood waters in Madagascar after Cyclone Bingiza struck the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar on 14 February 2011. The five-day rampage of Cyclone Bingiza across Madagascar killed at least 14 people and destroyed nearly 6,000 homes, the office of the UN resident coordinator said in a situation report on 21 February. The cyclone made landfall on 14 February in the Sava region in the northeast of the island and crossed into the Mozambican channel, before turning back and striking Manja District in the southwest. The government has decided against declaring a national emergency. «« Read More »»
22 February 2011 (madonline)
The municipal landfill of Andralanitra will be subject to important construction works, namely the establishment of fences around the site. The project will be realized thanks to particular funds granted by the French Government through the French Development Agency (AFD), amounting to 2 million Euros. Social assistance of the people who, so far, make a living in this landfill is also planned in the project. The complaints of the Father Pedro about the environmental pollution caused by the garbage of Andralanitra were finally heard. In this regard, the French government has decided to bring its help and contribution through the AFD Agency. 2 million Euros, such is the total amount of funds allocated by the French government destined to achieve the construction works of the landfill, the establishment of a fence, the tracing of the circuit of the vehicles transporting garbage from the capital to the site, and finally the drinking water supply project. The allocation of the funds was announced by the French Minister in charge of Cooperation, Henry de Raincourt, during the official inauguration of 30 new housing infrastructures at the social center, Akamasoa, which is the outcome of another project financed by the AFD Agency. «« Read More »»
17 February 2011 (allAfrica)
Former Madagascar president Marc Ravalomanana was barred from returning to the country on Saturday, after the Malagasy government blocked him from boarding a flight in South Africa. Ravalomanana risked imprisonment for returning to Madagascar after spending two years in exile. The airline "say they have received this note from Madagascar civil aviation saying that I am a non grata person," Ravalomanana said at O.R. Tambo airport in Johannesburg. I am very, very disappointed right now," he said. "If the [airline] received the notice there is nothing you can do," he added. South African Airways had been advised on Friday not to allow Ravalomanana to board the plane. Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina, who pushed out Ravalomanana with the help of the military, assumed power in 2009. He said Ravalomanana would be made to serve a life sentence in prison if he returned. The deposed ruler was convicted in absentia for the deaths of 30 protesters after ordering the presidential guard to fire on the crowd.
24 January 2011 (Agenzia Fides)
The drought has always the cause of periods of severe famine and epidemics that have plagued the people of Fort Dauphin, or Tolagnaro in the Malagasy language. According to local missionary sources, the population of the Diocese of Tolagnaro, located in the extreme south of Madagascar, is experiencing a period of great famine. This region of Madagascar, which has an area of 45 000 sq km, is the poorest, least developed, least educated in the Country with little infrastructure which is decaying, in short - abandoned by the Government. The population of almost one million inhabitants, of which 11% are Catholic, takes care of livestock in the higher areas in the north, farming in the south and fisheries in coastal areas. Since this is a rocky and sandy area, where it doesn't rain for most of the year, life is very hard and, with a prolonged dry season, it becomes an ever-increasingly daily struggle for survival due to the scarcity of water.
This dramatic reality was experienced first-hand by Bishop Odon M. Razanakolona of Antananarivo during his last visit to the region, where he often met long lines of people who walked for miles just to draw some water from the small river. According to local missionaries, there are often cases where groups of people leave the most remote and drought devastated areas and head for the city of Tolagnaro, because for them “it is better to die there of hunger than thirst at home.” The situation is further worsened by the ancestral traditions and still very popular superstitions: for example, polygamy and forced marriages at an early age are very common. Or, according to an ethnic tradition of the Tandroy, which dominates the district of Androy, when a head of the family dies, all the cattle are killed and the houses are burned down, forcing the other members of the families to start over from nothing. «« Read More »»
17 January 2011 (AfrolNews)
"Andry Rajoelina told us he wanted to stop illegal logging. He also said he wanted to call on countries who import the timber, and especially China, not to buy rosewood products anymore and is ready to co-finance actions to stop illegal logging with government funds," says Niall O'Connor, Regional Representative of WWF Madagascar.
"Now is the time for action. WWF urges him and the government to deliver what they promised," Mr O'Connor added. The environmentalist had presented the Malagasy government with 5,000 signatures from a petition to stop illegal logging of precious woods in Madagascar. «« Read More »»
6 December 2010 (allAfrica)
Deposed President "Recruited Mercenaries" - Diplomatic Cable The American embassy in Paris reported to Washington three months after Malagasy president Marc Ravalomanana was deposed in 2009 that he was recruiting mercenaries in France, according to a diplomatic cable published by WikiLeak. The cable, sent in June 2009, also said a French presidential adviser named as Remi Marechaux had denied rumours at the time that France was providing a military aircraft to the transitional government of Andry Rajoelina, who had seized power from Ravalomanana in March. «« Read More »»
26 November 2010 (allAfrica)
"Girls from all 22 regions of Madagascar come here because of tourism and the opportunity to have a white husband," Jean Claude de Bikiny, the island's deputy administrator, told IRIN. "We have been fighting this problem [sex tourism] since 1990." He thought about eight percent of people on Nosy Be could be sex workers, but this probably ebbed and flowed in synch with the high and low tourism seasons. There are frequent and direct flights from Europe to the 300 sq km island, and regular ferries cover the 8km distance from Madagascar. «« Read More »»
22 November 2010 (allAfrica)
The Madagascan people were asked to answer Yes or No to the proposed new constitution, which is considered to help consolidate Andry Rajoelina's grip on power. The electoral commission said 74 percent of voters approved the charter. At the weekend, regional leaders at the Southern African Development Community summit held in Botswana, said they did not recognise the referendum as legitimate. «« Read More »»
18 November 2010 (allAfrica)
A coup attempt, coinciding with a referendum on a new constitution held amid widespread speculation that two exiled former presidents will return within days, is propelling Madagascar into a situation where "anything can happen", an analyst told IRIN. The referendum - not sanctioned by the African Union or the regional body, the Southern African Development Community - included proposals for reducing the age of eligibility for presidential office from 40 years to 35 years, and that any Madagascan national standing as a candidate must have resided in the country for at least six months prior to the poll. Rajoelina was 35 years old when he forced former President Marc Ravalomanana out of office during his second term of office with the backing of the army in March 2009, but his administration has failed to secure international recognition. «« Read More »»
18 November 2010 (VOANews)
A Madagascar-based consultant said the country’s bourgeoning tourism businesses has been adversely affected following Wednesday’s attempted coup d’état that led to a renewed political crisis in the southern African island nation. Patricia Rajeriarison said the situation in the capital, Antananarivo remains tensed, adding that it will take several more days for the electoral body to declare the final results of the referendum. «« Read More »»
17 November 2010 (BBC)
Military officers in Madagascar say they have taken over the island nation. Col Charles Andrianasoavina, who made the announcement, was one of the officers behind a coup that brought Andry Rajoelina to power last year. But Mr Rajoelina denounced the mutineers and said he was unafraid of their threats. The officers said they had dissolved government institutions and formed a military committee. Col Andrianasoavina said the officers wanted national reconciliation, for political prisoners to be freed and for exiles to return to the country. «« Read More »»
5 November 2010 (wildmadagascar.org)
Video released by the Environmental Investigation Agency reveals Chinese rosewood traders have direct links to Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina, who seized power during a March 2009 military coup.
The undercover investigation found several instances of dealers in China who claim direct dealings with the highest levels of Madagascar's interim government. «« Read More »»
6 October 2010 (TTKN)
Ten or more zebu carts filled with around 100 terrestrial tortoises each are leaving the Mahafaly Plateau in south Madagascar every week, according to a survey conducted by WWF staff. And while poaching of the endemic radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) and the spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoids) for the bush meat and pet trade is long established, ongoing political instability has seen a large jump in illegal collection. «« Read More »»
5 September 2010 (NYTimes)
Famadihana Every society has its own customs regarding the deceased, an interplay between those who are and those who were. Here in the central highlands of Madagascar, that practice is taken much further. Ancestors are periodically taken from their tombs, and once the dancing stops and the bundled corpses are put on the ground, family members lovingly run their fingers across the skeletal outline protruding through the shrouds. Bones and dust are moved about in an effort to sustain a human shape. Elders tell children about the importance of those lying before them. «« Read More »»
31 August 2010 (allAfrica)
A court in the capital, Antanarivo, has sentenced former president Marc Ravalomanana and two officers to life imprisonment with hard labour for the part they played in the deaths of about 30 protesters before he was forced from office in 2009. Ravalomanana, who has lived in exile in South Africa since being deposed by the country's current leader, Andry Rajeolina, with the help of the miltary, has been convicted twice before by other courts. «« Read More »»
29 August 2010 (France24 after AFP)
The sentencing of Madagascar's former president Marc Ravalomanana to hard labour for life may prove to be one more obstacle in the island's attempts to emerge from its current political crisis. Ravalomanana, who lives in exile in South Africa, was sentenced in absentia Saturday by a court in Antananarivo for his part in what are known as the February 7, 2009 killings, the third sentence handed to him since his ouster. «« Read More »»
23 August 2010 (IRIN Africa)
Swarms of locusts have been forming in the South Madagascar for months threatening the livelihoods of hundreds and thousands of Malagasy and if a major control campaign is not set up quick infestations could reach "plague proportions," the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned. «« Read More »»
20 August 2010 (Global Voices)
One of the consequences of the enduring political crisis in Madagascar is its punishing impact on the environment, especially on the rain forest that is being pillaged because of a lucrative illegal rosewood. The combined work of activists and organizations specialized in conservation and protection, and investigative work in environmental crimes and exposing corruption in natural resource exploitation and trade was instrumental in documenting these environmental crimes. «« Read More »»
28 July 2010 (IRIN Africa)
"Since the coup d'état in March 2009, biodiversity-rich sites, and the local communities that are dependent on them, have been under attack by unscrupulous profiteers ... this illegal logging has now reached unprecedented levels ... approximately 400 trees per day are being cut in some regions," US Ambassador to Madagascar Niels Marquardt noted in the foreword to the report. «« Read More »»
lived and worked in Madagascar for over 3 years. She had travelled the island length and breadth. Passionate about the Red Island she continues to promote the country in the world and support its development through various charity projects
