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7 - Lemurs and tourism in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar

Economic boom and other consequences

from Part III - African primates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2014

By
Patricia C. Wright ,
Benjamin Andriamihaja ,
Stephen J. King ,
Jenna Guerriero  and
Josephine Hubbard
Edited by
Anne E. Russon  and
Janette Wallis
Patricia C. Wright
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Benjamin Andriamihaja
Affiliation:
MICET
Stephen J. King
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts
Jenna Guerriero
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Josephine Hubbard
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Anne E. Russon
Affiliation:
Glendon College, York University
Janette Wallis
Affiliation:
University of Oklahoma
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Summary

Introduction

Because Madagascar has been isolated from other continents for more than 150 million years (Jernvall & Wright, 1998; Kremen et al., 2008), it is characterized today by an extraordinary biodiversity that is unique to the island. Over the past 1000 years, 90% of Madagascar’s natural habitat has been destroyed, likely due primarily to human impact (Green & Sussman, 1990; Perez et al., 2005). Today many of its endemic species of plants and animals are threatened or endangered due to a combination of habitat destruction and hunting (Banks et al., 2007; Mayor et al., 2004; Wright et al., 2008). In very recent years tourism may have become an additional factor affecting Malagasy biodiversity. Madagascar’s diverse ecosystems, including spiny desert, subtropical dry forest, and rainforests, are all now contained in protected areas visited by tourists (Garbutt, 2009; Mittermeier et al., 2010).

Before the national park system was organized, tourism in Madagascar was primarily limited to beach resorts. A 15-year Environmental Action Plan was started in 1990 through which the national protected area system was established and the Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées (ANGAP) was organized to manage it (Wright & Andriamihaja, 2002). In 1990 there were two national parks in Madagascar, but by 2008, 18 had been established (Figure 7.1). Today the majority of ecologically minded tourists visit three of those parks: Mantadia, Isalo, and Ranomafana. In 2008, ANGAP was renamed Madagascar National Parks (MNP).

Type
Chapter
Information
Primate Tourism
A Tool for Conservation?
 , pp. 123 - 146
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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