DEFI & ACCESS INITIATIVE DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE

DEFI & AMI TAPIA FOREST RESTORATION

PROJECT FOR PRESERVATION OF THE TAPIA FOREST

Environment Project for Preservation of Ancient Tapia forest with wild Silkworm habitat, providing sustainable local production of wild silk to create revenue for village families in the forest areas

DEFI : THE TAPIA FOREST OF MADAGASCAR IS TRULY UNIQUE. Développement Economique du Faritr’Imamo Date de création : 1993 IT DOES NOT EXIST IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE TAPIA FOREST

DEFI are working with local communities providing practical education on how to restore the forests

CAUSES CONSEQUENCES The current degradation of the -Deforestation SITUATION NOW - Reduction and scarcity of environment in Madagascar -EXPLOITATION for : Reduction of forest area forest products : Tapia fruits, Fire wood, Building materials, and sparseness mushrooms, and honey etc... constitutes a major problem, with Wood handles for tools. Of trees in the forest - RARENESS/SCARCITY : the consequences affecting all Medicinal plants, Cocoons... parts of the ‘bio value chain’ and directly impacting on family Specific Objective1: Specific Objective 2: income and survival. Re-establish the forest size and O.C.B / V.O.I Increase families’ revenue in density Local Collaborating region Community Groups The forest of TAPIA, is the only natural and endemic forest in the SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMANT OF THE TAPIA FOREST region of Soamahamanina and is PROMOTION OF suffering from severe degradation ENRICHMENT AGRICULTURAL and the local population is OF TAPIA FOREST FORESTATION MANAGEMENT OF FOREST IMPROVEMENTS OF BUFFER ZONES PRODUCTS and Promotion of suffering the consequences. ECOTOURISM Soamahamanina is 75km west of Antananarivo, on the National Local Collection and Sale: - Building a Center for - Tapia fruits, Micro- credit Road N°1. It is situated in the Collection and Trans- management - Creation of - Mushrooms formation of Cocoons. district of and in the - Eucalyptus. - Silkworm Cocoons after seedling the silkworm has gone out - Outfitting the center for part of . nurseries. - Pine Trees... training purposes - Re-forestation. The population is 18600, almost 80% of them live in poverty. 90% THE TAPIA FORESTS OF MADAGASCAR ARE A of the population are farmers, producing rice and cassava. UNIQUE BIODIVERSITY RESOURCE FOUND NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD - DEFI A families average annual income is USD $ 356. DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE

DEFI WORKS WITH THE COMMUNITY EDUCATING THEM ABOUT CONSERVATION, HEALTH AND HYGENE, ALL DESIGNED TO IMPROVE LIVES

Objectives: anti malaria medicine, and water purifying Creation of buffer zones syrup. • Planting of new Mulberry plantation ; Protection, reforestation and the two fields of 2700 young plants of • to provide fire woods and building/ sustainable exploitation of the Tapia forest. • Promotion and subsidised sale of above Mulberry trees agricultural materials: products to local communities in 13 Promoting the environmental, cultural sites. • Training of 12 women members of the • Installation of seedling nurseries of social economic development and processing and transformation of eucalyptus and pine in 4 village sites for addressing the public health needs in the • Creation of tree-nurseries in community cocoons into silk thread. the production of 12800 young trees. region. and school ground for Tapia and Mulberry trees in 6 sites • Collection, processing and • Planting of 11520 young trees of DEFI organises training in these issues for transformation of cocoons into silk eucalyptus and pine in 4 sites. the local community. • Community and School environmental thread. education Increasing family revenues for the Promotion of the fight against bush • Production of 2 silk articles using the local population: fires and poverty. • Sanitary Education on: TSI/ AIDS, traditional method of weaving. hygiene and water purification, Familial • Creation of a centre for silk Achievements to date: Planning, diarrhoea and malaria Enrichment of the forests of TAPIA • A 2 room building has been built • Creation of 8 nurseries in the area and • Setting up demonstration fields showing • Installation of seedling nurseries in 4 training of gardeners in skills of improved agricultural techniques village sites, for the production of 27, germination of seeds and potting of 360 young plants of Tapia • Allowing for cocoon preparation seedling trees. • Creation of buffer zones by planting 1500 plants of 50 cm high Eucalyptus • Continued reforestation of TAPIA, • Weaving and education. • Helping create the structure and and pines on planting 12000 young seedlings of Tapia effectiveness of partners and in 4 sites. • 20 people trained in weaving stakeholders in the community. • Enrichment of Tapia forests with 1250 techniques young tapia trees on

• Creation of 13 AVBC: Agents for the • Training about the plantation of Mulberry sale of products for family planning, trees DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE DEFI & ACCESS MADAGASCAR INITIATIVE

NEXT STEPS

• PLANTING MORE TREES - 10,000 TREES FOR 5 HECTORS - INCREASE OF BUFFER ZONE

• EDUCATING MORE VILLAGERS IN: - CONSERVATION - HEALTH AND SANITATION

• HELPING TO PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS - TRAINING MORE WEAVERS - CREATING ECO TOURISM

In addition, DEFI in partnership with AMI are now starting on a series of surveys to record:

• changes to the environment • fauna and flora mapping • improved livelihoods • up dateinventory of needs

For more information please contact DEFI - c/o DEFI WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMI IS please contact AMI if you would like to Access Madagascar Initiative: make a donation to the DEFI ACCEPTING VOLUNTEERS AND SEEKING FUNDS reforestation project. Every donation [email protected] TO FURTHER THE RESTORATION OF TAPIA big or small makes a difference!