The project
Despite a record number of endemic plant and animal species, in only one century, Man has reduced 90% of the Madagascar’s primary forest cover to cinders, putting the island on the world’s list of priorities for the preservation of biodiversity. The Makay mountain range, in the south-west of Madagascar, made up of hundreds of inextricable canyons, has protected many different and unique ecosystems for millions of years... This amazing and unknown richness will not be preserved much longer : it's a matter of urgency.
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In 2007, Evrard Wendenbaum (scientist and photographer) initiated the Makay Nature Project as the first opportunity to explore and carry out scientific studies in this range. Accompanied by a mountain guide and a researcher, he led a first exploratory expedition during which the team referenced, noted, shot videos and photographs, and collected some 40 plant species. Work that led Paris' National History Museum to conclude that the first ever painted caves in Madagascar had been discovered along with new plant species.
These positive results encouraged the French Explorer's Society to carry on with this project and to launch a great naturalist expedition with the main aim of drawing up the most exhaustive inventory of the Makay's exceptional and extremely threatened biodiversity.
When examining the complexity of this relief, this work scheduled in fall 2009 will definitely require technical prowess : a support team composed of climbers, a balloonist and a diver will use the appropriate techniques to offer secure access to the most delicate of areas. Some of the equipment will be installed temporarily and limited to the duration of the expedition, and other equipment permanently in order to be used later by tourists.
The expedition will also give the scientists and partner NGOs the opportunity to gain the understanding and the support of the local people and authorities. Once acquired, they will be able to begin the first programs of education to provide alternatives to the bush fires used today, which are mainly responsible for Madagascar's desertification. And above all, to make them aware that for their own survival, they will have to preserve their natural resources.
The last part of the project, which will take place in 2010, will focus on the in depth study of the Makay’s richness, through laboratory research, and above all on obtaining the status of “Protected Area”. It is imperative that the protected status is obtained in order to guaranty the durability of these actions. On the field, the ecotouristic development of the area will be done through educational programs, ecoguide training, as well as the installation of naturalist and aerial circuits.
Finally, the discoveries revealed, along with the untouched natural beauty of the area, will be the best tools to communicate and inform the people at large, through conferences, a website, articles, books and a documentary as well as an educational project with schools, on how urgently threatened areas of the planet need preserving.