LEMUR NEWS The Newsletter of the Madagascar Section of the I.U.C.N./S.S.C. Primate Specialist Group NUMBER 14, December 2009 DPZ Deutsches Primatenzentrum Universität Hamburg Cover photo: Processing of a rosewood stockpile in Antalaha (photo anonymous).. LEMUR NEWS The Newsletter of the Madagascar Section of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group PSG Chairman: Russel A. Mittermeier PSG Deputy Chairman: Anthony B. Rylands Addresses for contributions Jörg U. Ganzhorn Editors Abt. Tierökologie und Naturschutz Jörg U. Ganzhorn Universität Hamburgl Ken Glander Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 Jonah Ratsimbazafy 20146 Hamburg Rodin M. Rasoloarison Germany Michael Schwibbe E-mail: [email protected] Anne Yoder Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Rodin M. Rasoloarison, Assistant Editors Rose Marie Randrianarison Anja Ganzhorn GERP Rose Marie Randrianarison 34, Cité des Professeurs, Fort Duchesne Antananarivo (101) Layout Madagascar Heike Klensang E-mail: [email protected] Lemur News online Number of copies: 1000 Volumes 3 -present are available online at www.dpz.eu ISSN 1608-1439 Printed by Goltze GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen, Germany Lemur News Vol. 14, 2009 Page 1 established a field research and conservation pro- gramme. Since 2006 Christoph is head of research at EDITORIAL Bristol Zoo Gardens, and since 2007 he is also executive secretary of AEECL. His main research interests are the behavior and ecology of primates in human-altered It has been a sad time since the last issue of lemur News habitats, and the nutritional ecology of frugivorous has been released. mammals. Ando Ratovonirina died tragically on February 7, 2009. On a personal note, I would like to thank all our collabo- Ando was a journalist with a strong background in ecol- rators and contributors for their excellent work during ogy and conservation. He had the last few years. In particular I would like to thank the only recently completed his Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, the Primate journalism studies and had Action Fund, CI and WWF for their support over the been working for Radio et Té- years. lévision Analamanga for three months. Previously he was a Misaotra betsaka photographer for the "La Ga- Jörg Ganzhorn zette de la Grande Ile" and used to write for the "Tophos" news agency under the pseud- COVER STORY: onym of Hathor. With his tra- A tragedy with villains: Severe resur- gic death we lost a promising young colleague who had the gence of selective rosewood logging Ando Ratovonirina potential to promote conserva- in Marojejy National Park leads to tion beyond the academic are- temporary park closure na. But more than a colleague we mourn the death of a human being, friend and son. Erik R. Patel Madame Olga Ramilijaona, Professeur Titulaire at the Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, Faculté des Sciences of the University of Antananarivo, [email protected] died on January 6, 2010. Ma- dame Olga had been in charge The Marojejy website (www.marojejy.com/) summarizes of the Department of Zoology the reasons for the closure: "The closure was deemed and of its doctoral program. necessary by park management due to the lawlessness She was instrumental in de- that has descended over the SAVA region during this veloping the curriculum of the time of political unrest in Madagascar, and the resul- department and to promote tant looting and destruction which is currently occur- students in close collaboration ring within the park. In particular, gangs of armed men with her colleagues in Anta- (led primarily by foreign profiteers in conjunction with nanarivo and her internati- the rich local mafia) are plundering the rainforests of onal collaborators. Madame Olga Ramilijaona Marojejy for the extremely valuable rosewood that Olga also headed the fauna grows there". The logging is now known to have oc- group within the CITES. She curred within the central eastern and north-eastern has passed away long before her time had come. We sectors of the park that have road access to Sambava mourn her untimely death. (Mandena, Andratamarina, Andrahanjo) (pers. comm., Ando Ratovonirina and Olga Ramilijaona worked to- Herve Bakarizafy, Marojejy National Park Director). wards a society characterized by high standards in their These are approximately the same regions where illegal respective field. We will do whatever we can to continue rosewood logging occurred in Marojejy in 2005 (Patel, and extend their legacies. 2007: Fig. 1). The goal of this report is to provide a detailed summary For the last 12 years, Lemur News has been edited by a of these recent events which represent the greatest con- team of dedicated Malagasy and non-Malagasy "lemur people" brought together by Conservation Internatio- servation threat Marojejy has ever faced. The natural nal. I enjoyed these years and the stimulating interac- history and conservation status of Madagascar’s pre- tion with people with first information from the field. cious hardwoods will also be reviewed. This extreme But now I feel that it is time to pass the newsletter on to case study illustrates how unsustainable manual selec- the next generation so that we can take advantage of tive logging can have severe accessory effects including fresh enthusiasm and new approaches. Christoph loss of tourism, creation of numerous new large trails, Schwitzer from Bristol Zoo has agreed to take on the re- an increase in bushmeat hunting, and destruction of a sponsibility as the international coordinator. Christoph likely food species of the silky sifaka (Propithecus can- is placed nicely at the interface of zoos, education, con- didus). A few rosewood (Dalbergia louveli) tress have servation and field research. Christoph Schwitzer re- been found within the habitat of the main silky sifaka ceived his PhD in Zoology from the University of Co- study group at Camp 2 (Marojejia) of Marojejy (pers. logne, where he studied the nutritional ecology of le- obs.; pers. comm.: Mosesy Madiomanana, Marojejy N.P. murs. He was part of the primatological research group Chief Guide; Rabary Desire, Marojejy N.P., former at Cologne Zoo before becoming program coordinator for Chief Guide) and informal observations suggest that the Association Européenne pour l’Etude et la Conserva- they occasionally eat leaves of the rosewood tree (To- tion des Lémuriens (AEECL) in Madagascar, where he honkasina Jacques Harson (Jackson), Marojejy N.P. re- Page 2 Lemur News Vol. 14, 2009 search guide). Milne-edwards’ sifakas do eat the leaves baronii and D. madagascariensis were seldom found of pallisandre (Dalbergia baroni) in Ranomafana Na- within 5 km of a protected area, and the authors note tional Park (Arrigo-Nelson, 2007). Diademed sifakas that large specimens are rare due to overexploitation. (Propithecus diadema) consume leaves of this genus as Even rarer, D. louveli is classified as "endangered" since well (Irwin, 2006). no trees whatsoever were found within 5 km of a pro- Illegal logging of precious wood, such as rosewood and tected area, and "populations of this rare rosewood are ebony, has emerged as one of the most severe threats to now severely fragmented, and it is selectively felled for Madagascar’s northeastern rainforests. Thousands of the export market" (Labat and Moat 2003). The wood of logs, worth millions of dollars, have recently been con- D. baronii and D. louveli is lustrous deep red and refer- fiscated at ports of Vohémar, Antalaha, and Toamasina. red to as "rosewood" or "bois de rose" in French or locally Most of these logs were harvested from the two largest in Malagasy as "Andramena" which translates to protected areas in the region, Masoala National Park "trunk-red". D. madagascariensis is one example of and Marojejy National Park (Fig. 1, cover picture). Har- palisandre, a precious Dalbergia hardwood without the vesting these extremely heavy and valuable hardwoods vibrant red coloration (Du Puy, 2002). is a labor intensive activity requiring coordination be- All three tree species provide precious hardwood and tween local residents who manually cut the trees, but are believed to be harvested mainly for furniture con- receive little profit, and a criminal network of exporters, struction overseas (particularly China), and only occa- domestic transporters, and corrupt officials who initiate sionally used in Madagascar for artistic carvings and the process and reap most of the enormous profits. This vases for sale to tourists (Fig. 2). Expensive rosewood is a tragedy with villains unlike habitat disturbance guitars and other musical instruments made from rose- from subsistence slash-and-burn agriculture which has wood are popular around the world, including in the been well described as a "tragedy without villains" United States (Du Puy, 2002). However, it is not clear at (Jolly et al., 1984). There are about 18 major rosewood this time, what exactly happens to Madagascan rose- exporters or "rosewood barons" in Antalaha for whom wood after it arrives to China. Chinese importers are thousands of local residents inadvertently work for said to prefer unprocessed whole rosewood logs (pers. (pers. com.: Bematana Martin, Antalaha rosewood com.: Bematana Martin, Antalaha rosewood dealer and dealer and exporter). The impacts of such selective log- exporter). ging include violating local taboos as well as ecological consequences such as increased likelihood of fire, inva- sive species, impaired habitat, and loss in genetic diver- sity. Recommendations include listing D. louveli under CITES Appendix III, increasing the involvement of the judicial system, no future authorizations for the gather- ing or exporting of precious wood, reforestation, and ex- tensive police monitoring along strategic roadways (re- viewed in Patel, 2007). Fig. 2: Rosewood carving shop in Antalaha which makes 20 to 30 rosewood vases each day, and more than 5,000 since 2005 when they began this business. They report a continuous supply of rosewood scrap pieces since 2005. Masoala National Park contains both ebony and rose- wood. Remarkably, more than 25 species of ebony (Dio- spyros) are found on the Masoala peninsula, a number of which have commercial value.