Conserving forest biodiversity in Madagascar

In August we celebrated the second birthday of Project Ala’s Corridors 1 and 4. Although wildlife corridors are long-term projects, we couldn't let this milestone go by without sharing the progress.

Since their humble beginnings in 2019, both corridors have developed well. After replants every three months, and then after the first year, Corridor 1 has seen a 90.5% survival rate in Acacia seedlings and, in Corridor 4, there has been an incredible 99% survival rate! Over two years, the average saplings measured 2.7m and 2.9m for Corridor 1 and 4 respectively, with the largest sapling currently standing at 4.5m in Corridor 1.

Within this second year, the diameter of the Acacia sapling trunks in both Corridor 1 and 4 have decreased, losing trunk width growth, but overall saplings have grown faster in the second year. This is normal and means that the Acacia trees are focusing their energy on growing taller and thinning out after an initial year of rooting and establishing a sturdy trunk. Once trees have established their growing space with other surrounding trees, they will focus on growing upwards to compete for light and canopy coverage. This is exactly what we want to see for our reforestation strategy. By their third year, these fast-growing, sun -tolerant and fire-resistant Acacia trees will provide a thick canopy for our shade-loving native pioneer trees to establish themselves beneath. 

Overall, this anniversary has shown us the progress in terms of the survival and growth rate of our Corridor 1 and 4 saplings. We are now two years closer to creating a canopy for native tree species, regenerating the soil, connecting the forest fragments and, ultimately,  protecting the three species of endangered lemurs found in the Sainte Luce Littoral Forest.