E-News for April 2008
With apologies yet again for a busy schedule, I humbly submit the latest e-newsletter. Programs continue at a rapid rate in Madagascar. Below are just a few highlights from the latest newsletter!
- Cyclone Ivan Update and aid from MFG supporters
- New baby lemurs!
- Artist Daisy Shepperd volunteers: Buy her artwork on products in our online store!
- A Toy Lemur and a Programmer Blog Their Way to over $12,000 for Madagascar in Five Days
- First ever radio-collared sifaka and indri in Betampona Reserve
- Meet new staff members Rufin & Jacques Ely
Links below are to the full December report as well as the brand new March report. All of these are in standard PDFs for easy reading and printing.
March Update
December Update
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March UPDATE
Download the Full PDF
Monthly from Madagascar
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DEFORESTATION SLOWS IN
MADAGASCAR
Madagascar reduced the destruction rate of its protected forests eight-fold.
According to Conservation International and the Malagasy government, satellite imagery now indicates deforestation has fallen in protected areas to 0.1 percent per year of existing forest from the much higher 0.8 percent seen during the 1990s, say.
Overall deforestation across the island has declined to half a percent. Clearing trees for farms and burning wood to make charcoal remain major threats.
President Ravalomanana committed to increase environmental protection in 2003. Since then, a combination of tree planting, community involvement and the extension of reserves have all contributed to less deforestation.
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IVAN WORST CYCLONE in DECADES
As previously reported in a shorter communication, Cyclone Ivan struck Madagascar on February 18 as a category IV storm. Local authorities have said that Cyclone Ivan was the worst storm of its kind to hit the country since the 1980s .
The floods and cyclones have destroyed homes, roads and crops across the region. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says many families are living in temporary shelters, while others have lost their cattle and livelihoods.
UN humanitarian agencies are continuing to distribute aid in Madagascar. Relief efforts are currently concentrated mainly in the east where Cyclone Fame hit on January 27, Ivan on February 18, and Jokwe on March 5 affecting more than 332,000 people. The UN Children's Fund has handed out blankets and hired a helicopter to carry out intensive vaccination programmes because of concerns over the outbreak of infectious diseases.
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2010 WORLD CUP UP in the AIR
According to a statement, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association has suspended Madagascar from international football because of the Malagasy government's interference in the sport on the island. Because of the suspension, Madagascar may not feature in the qualifiers of the World Cup 2010 which begins next month. |
FASTER INTERNET on the WAY
Plans have been announced to install a submarine fiber-optic cable to provide broadband internet access to the island. Known as Lion, the 1,800km cable will connect Madagascar with the region's existing SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cable. (This cable system provides a path between Asia and Europe for telecommunications traffic that is an alternative to the cable routes that pass through the Middle East.) A landing station will be established in Tamatave with a link to Tana. |
