- Expanding agriculture by both residents and new migrants threatens the dry forest of Madagascar’s Menabe Antimena Protected Area.
- The ongoing deforestation also threatens the livelihoods of communities.
- A local association, Taniala Regenerative Camp, uses resilient forest systems as a model to regenerate degraded soil by planting trees alongside crops.
- The association supports surrounding communities through training in agroecology and agroforestry, and through additional income earned from intercropping in agroforestry plots.
The Menabe Antimena Protected Area in midwestern Madagascar is badly scarred by deforestation; farmers from the surrounding communities have encroached on this unique dry forest ecosystem in search of new and fertile land to grow crops like maize and peanuts. But amid the damage, in the village of Lambokely, is a carefully tended exception.
Roland Frédéric Tahina and a group of volunteers tend baobabs, Indian siris and a range of indigenous species they’ve planted on a small plot they’ve named the Taniala Regenerative Camp.
Local communities in Menabe depend on agriculture, hunting, charcoal production and the extraction of timber and non-timber forest products for their livelihood and income. Because of limited rainfall, poor soil quality and an increasingly arid climate, they face acute food insecurity. Their primary farming method — using fire to clear new areas to grow crops — depletes the soil and accelerates desertification. Additionally, migrants from the south are increasingly involved in this practice in forested areas, leading to severe deforestation, especially in the Menabe Antimena Protected Area.
Menabe’s dry forests include numerous endemic tree species, including rosewood, hazomalany (Hernandia voyronii) and baobab. The protected area is also a refuge for critically endangered species like flat-tailed tortoises (Pyxis planicauda), giant jumping rats (Hypogeomys antimena) and Madame Berthe’s mouse lemurs (Microcebus berthae). This unique ecosystem is projected to vanish by 2050, making it one of the most endangered protected areas in the country.
Deeply concerned about the fate of the forest and local communities, Tahina, who has worked in the area for several years, sought a concrete solution to restore harmony between people and nature through regenerative agroforestry tailored to the local context. In 2022, Tahina and collaborators founded the association Taniala Regenerative Camp (tany = soil, land; ala = forest).
“At Taniala Regenerative Camp, our goal is to regenerate soils at various scales,” Tahina explained to Mongabay in an email. Their inspiration comes from forests — resilient ecosystems with rich soil that maintain biodiversity and provide a wide range of resources.
“Forests have different layers with diverse species, and we recreate this natural stratification by planting multiple species on the same plot at the optimal time and location, ensuring they can thrive even under challenging conditions. Based on this principle, we create “forest gardens,” where we plant various types of trees: fruit-bearing, forest and fast-growing trees that enrich the soil, alongside crops. For example, we plant baobabs, known as renala in Malagasy, meaning ‘mother of the forest,’ as the emergent layer, surrounded by leguminous trees like Albizia lebbeck for biomass and soil enrichment, along with other native species.”
Taniala Regenerative Camp (RC) is actively engaging with the local community to make the regenerative camp’s pilot site a “showcase of good regenerative agricultural practices.” Residents of the villages around Lambokely manage the nursery and market garden crops.
“Local communities receive training in agroecology and agroforestry, benefit from improved soil fertility, and earn additional income from intercropping in the agroforestry plots. In addition, community members are incentivized to participate in tree-planting activities.”
However, Tahina concedes that local communities are sometimes reluctant to plant trees on their private fields, fearing that these lands could be claimed by the forestry administration.
The Chances For Nature program has a vision of Menabe region that aligns with Taniala RC’s goals. “At Chances for Nature, we focus on environmental education for local children aged 8-15 through our Little Rangers program in Menabe region,” the program’s national manager, Solofo Ndrina Razanamahenina, told Mongabay. “We teach them to observe and appreciate wildlife. By fostering a sense of love and protection for the environment, we aim to eliminate the need for patrols and land-clearing within the next decade.”
Like Taniala RC, Chances for Nature is working to make the region a “tree-planting hub.” And, like Tahina, Razanamahenina has observed the tension between local populations and the forestry agents tasked with the conservation of the area.
“Communities set fires in the forest not just for slash-and-burn agriculture, but also to clear lines of sight and roads to evade patrols. Reconciliation and trust-building measures must involve future generations,” he said.
Tahina compares the regenerative camps to “tiny labs” in the field, where they adapt to seasonal changes and local realities, focusing on practical, applied research for the moment. He said the group’s long-term goal is to establish multiple regenerative camps to promote soil regeneration, forest creation and regenerative agroforestry in the region and across the country.
“Currently, we are applying and testing knowledge and research results from our colleagues working in soil regeneration and regenerative agriculture in Brazil, Australia, Kenya, Uganda and New Caledonia. We plan to conduct rigorous scientific research in the future, when resources become available.”
Taniala RC is the first regenerative agroforestry camp of its kind in Madagascar. “Currently, our work is mainly self-funded, driven by passion, and we all volunteer, except for our field manager, whose salary is supported by the NATIR organization in Mauritius,” Tahina told Mongabay.
“We are also looking to establish partnerships with private companies or associations interested in creating forest gardens, restoring land through agroforestry and employing local communities.”
In 2023, Taniala RC was selected as a Dryland Restoration Steward through the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and Lush Spring Prize. These initial financings enabled them to expand their forest garden model up to 3 hectares (7.4 acres) and establish a nursery with 10,000 plants. They are also involved in various platforms, such as Re-Alliance, to share and exchange information on regenerative agroforestry, design resilience and permaculture.
Although the forest garden is still new, the model demonstrates a promising system that is both regenerative and resilient. Taniala RC aims not only to provide sustainable food production alternatives through regenerative agriculture but also to “create lasting, locally rooted impacts” by encouraging people to embrace a process of regeneration rather than perpetuating a cycle of degradation.
“The principles of regenerative agroforestry are easy to explain because they mimic the natural forest, which communities are already familiar with,” Tahina explained. “If communities are given the necessary support and resources, they will readily embrace these principles.”
Expanding these efforts is crucial because, as Tahina explained, “We need to act now, without waiting for the ecological and climatic shocks and stresses that threaten the region to manifest themselves before responding. Neighboring residents, appreciating the progress at our pilot site, have also expressed interest in planting using Taniala RC’s methods.”
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Banner image: A group photo after practical training on market gardening and forest garden maintenance in agroforestry at the regenerative camp. Image courtesy Roland Frédéric Tahina.
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