Let's restore together what has been burned !

The results of the 2022 reforestation campaign by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development indicate that out of the target of 75,000 hectares last year, the country has reforested more than 73,000 hectares. This is a performance to be highlighted compared to previous years and it reflects the efforts and investments of all those working to re-green the big island. At the same time, the compilation of fire statistics in 2022 indicates that 90,000 hectares burned between the months of January and August. We are losing more than we are planting, both in quantity and quality. 

It is important to remember the negative effects of deforestation on human health and the planet. Apart from climate change, it is proven that deforestation accelerates the decline of biodiversity, global warming and weakens local populations that depend on forest ecosystems and the services they provide. 

For Voahirana Randriambola, WWF Madagascar, « we need to redouble our efforts to protect the remaining natural forests, restore what is degraded, plant more than what is burned, and ensure that what is planted becomes forest.  While this calls for courage and dedication on the part of conservationists, it also means taking steps and putting in place the means to sustain the fruits of all these efforts. Today, we know that forests are a solution at hand to make our soils more fertile, to ensure our food and energy supply, to purify our air ». 

The 2023 reforestation campaign is an opportunity to continue to "green Madagascar", a matter of survival for our country, a civic duty for each Malagasy!

In the 22 regions of Madagascar, the Regional Directorates of Environment and Sustainable Development are preparing their regional and local campaigns. Nurseries have been set up since October-November and it is possible in some Regions to take free seedlings if you wish to plant trees during this rainy season.

Our common goal of regreening Madagascar cannot be achieved without a national mobilization and an effective strategy for sustainable reforestation. Indeed, reforestation does not only consist in planting seedlings. It is necessary to gather all the conditions favorable to their growth and to follow the different steps that will guarantee a concrete result in a few days, months and years.

So that 2023 will not be a year of reforestation "selfie", but a year in which our trees succeed in growing. Let us restore together what has been burned.