Madagascar is a worldwide biodiversity hotspot and home to distinctive animal species that may solely be discovered on the island. Ninety-eight p.c of mammals, 91% of reptiles, and 80% of crops don’t happen wherever else on this planet. The ring-tailed lemur and Verreaux’s sifaka, often known as the “dancing lemur,” are two of the 107 lemur species that dwell in Madagascar. However, 96% of lemur species, or 103 out of 107 species, are going through extinction as a consequence of habitat loss from the routine clearing of forests for wooden charcoal, firewood, and subsistence farming, in addition to being taken from the wild for the unlawful pet commerce. In southwestern Madagascar, WWF is working with communities to guard lemurs within the community-managed Amoron’i Onilahy Protected Area by preserving habitat intact for lemurs and the individuals who depend on the forest for survival.
Protecting spiny forests and the wildlife that dwell there
Amoron’i Onilahy is a key refuge system for lemurs and serves as an important wildlife corridor between the southern and northern spiny forests. These distinctive forests are discovered nowhere else on this planet and supply an vital habitat for ring-tailed lemurs and Verreaux’s sifakas. Many of the crops on this arid surroundings have spectacular water-conserving qualities as a consequence of their spines, therefore the identify “spiny forest.” These spines developed as an adaptation to droughts within the space and assist the crops to scale back water loss and keep away from being eaten.
WWF works intently with communities to guard these species and habitat in Amoron’i Onilahy —one of many final strongholds for ring-tailed lemurs and Verreaux’s sifakas. Local neighborhood patrollers, often called polisin’ala, assist monitor and defend lemurs and their forests in six websites throughout the protected space. The polisin’ala additionally work alongside native communities and ecologists, in addition to college students from a number of universities to watch lemur inhabitants traits, habits, and habitat high quality, and to build scientific capability to guard wildlife. As a results of these monitoring measures, there was a 60% lower within the deforestation price in 2020 in comparison with 2019 within the Amoron’i Onilahy and a rise in lemur density from 2019 to 2022. The elevated lemur density outcomes from grownup lemurs shifting into Amoron’i Onilahy as a result of it provides a protected area and sufficient sources to help extra lemurs.
Overall, WWF has skilled near 200 patrollers on patrol reporting, consciousness, and communication methods, with 30 skilled in 2023. Now, smartphone expertise is creating enormous advances in our conservation efforts and permits the polisin’ala to make use of their telephones to doc and observe lemur populations. A standardized community-based monitoring system utilizing the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) has strengthened the capability for higher long-term monitoring of lemur populations.
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