Conserving More of Madagascar
Scientists Take a New Approach to Protecting Threatened Ecosystems
A Report in the Journal, Science, Says Madagascar Has an Opportunity to Rethink Endangered Species Conservation by Protecting All of Its Plants and Animals
A study released in the April 11th issue of the journal, Science, says we might want to take a closer look at efforts to protect Earth’s endangered plants and animals. Instead of roping off huge tracts of forests, conservationists in Madagascar are busy assessing everything from tiny ants to the world’s biggest lemur in an attempt to tailor habitat protection to the needs of the most species possible.
When it comes to preserving threatened ecosystems, bigger often seems to be better. And, in fact, environmental organizations often present dire warnings of threats in terms of entire ecosystems. In a map of biodiversity hotspots adapted from National Geographic, for example, threatened areas include the Himalayas, the Mediterranean basin, and entire island nations like New Zealand and Madagascar.
While news reports might marvel at the idea of thousands of square miles of untouched forest, such large ranges are often established to protect only a single species of animal, like a tiger or chimpanzee. Ironically, efforts like this ignore the very meaning of biodiversity and end up protecting a few at the expense of many.
Small Areas, Big Stakes
According to the report in Science, more than 50% of plants and 70% of vertebrates live in only “2.3% of the Earth’s land surface.” Scientists refer to these areas as “biodiversity hot spots,” and stress their importance in conservation efforts. In 2003, Madagascar answered that call, pledging to triple the amount of its protected areas, eventually encompassing 10% of the country.
Because Madagascar boasts so many different species of plants and animals, its declaration was celebrated. However, these initial efforts were often simply setting aside huge tracts of forest in order to protect a single species. And, say the authors in Science, such conservation programs don’t help the ecosystem as a whole.
In fact, in those protection programs,“25 to 50% of [other] taxa were entirely omitted [from conservation plans].” That means, in any given national park or forest in Madagascar, up to half of the country’s species aren’t even present to benefit from the protection.
The argument boils down to this: what good is a giant, protected forest if it’s only home to a few species?
A New Conservation Approach
Under the plan set forth by the authors of the report in Science, Madagascar’s conservation plan would get a makeover. But it would be a feasible change.
Of the 10% of land it pledged to protect, Madagascar has already set aside 6.3%, so the authors developed a ranking system that took into account a plant or animal’s threatened status as well as its representation in existing preserves. Using this, they filled out the remaining 3.7% of conservation land.
Areas like Madagascar’s central plateaus and coastal forests receive the most benefit, since they are the ecosystems usually missing from conservation plans. The result is like a whole environment insurance plan: every species is represented by at least one protected area.
Diverse Ecosystems are Healthy Ecosystems
From a conservation standpoint, diverse ecosystems are robust and healthy and more likely to rebound from environmental disturbances like fires or logging. This concept has been known to science for some time, but not fully adopted in the conservation arena.
In fact, a 2000 report in the journal Nature, mapped out the interactions between the plants of a forest and the fungi and bacteria that supported them. Each organism played a role in the other’s success, proving the need for diversity in an ecosystem.
In the end, this new approach to conservation in Madagascar could provide a framework for future conservation efforts. It’s not enough to just protect the endangered species, the authors suggest. We must protect some of every species, because, taken together, they build the habitats in which the world’s flora and fauna thrive.
