Carmignac Gestion

« "Trees and People" Project
CARMIGNAC GESTION takes action alongside the humanitarian association CARE to provide support to people affected by natural disasters in Madagascar »

Madagascar, one of the world’s 30 poorest countries, is regularly hit by cyclones. Cyclones are a direct result of climate change and very severe cyclones affect almost the entire country. Because they lack appropriate structures, the local communities suffer heavy damage whenever there is a cyclone.

With the support of the Carmignac Gestion Foundation, CARE will engage in tree-planting around the villages and rehabilitation of the mangroves in order to protect biodiversity and combat deforestation, a major problem in Madagascar:

• The planting of a total of 10 miles of windbreaks at 5 sites, involving 20,000 plants of varieties resistant to salty winds and cyclones, such as the Pandanus, banana tree, bishop’s cap, oil palm and a variety of fruit trees (oranges and mangoes).
• Establishment of 6 village plant nurseries: the idea is to teach villagers to put plants and trees in pots so that the local people themselves can multiply the number of plants and dig them into the ground at the right time of year.
• Restoration of mangrove belts through the planting of 77,000 young mangrove plants along the coast and river banks from Andasibe to Ratsianarana in Eastern Madagascar. Mangroves constitute a source of revenue and food for the local population, but they are being steadily and massively destroyed by successive cyclones and by sea and wind erosion.
• In the South of the Island, the planting of 500 young breadfruit trees around schools and villages to counter erosion caused by frequent flooding in the area.
• Also in the South, reforestation of eucalyptus over 15 hectares to restore forest that has been decimated by the effects of slash-and-burn agriculture policies. This policy of destroying forest to grow food (especially cassava) is known locally as “tavy”. The deforested land is generally abandoned after a few years and new areas are encroached on, which progressively destroys the forest and leaves the ground sterile. Reforestation will also help provide wood for heating and building, which will in turn help to reduce pressure on the primary forest.

In addition to this environmental aspect, the project also includes:

• Strengthening the infrastructures of the most exposed communities in order to develop resilience in target populations;
• • Supporting income-generating activities: by protecting the environment, the project will have a positive impact on the natural sources of wealth – fishing and agriculture – from which the population make their living.

The scheme is also aimed at small-scale projects (such as community food stores, bridges, dykes and embankment protection), the implementation of measures to protect villages from landslides, floods and wind damage, and strengthening the early warning system between communities.

This will be developed in the south east in the Atsimo Atsinanana region, in the north east in the Analanjirofo region, and in the north in the Sava region.