Madagascar: One of the Most Important Places for Life on Earth - Madagascar

What the report says

AllAfrica published a guest column from Antananarivo on 21 July 2026 arguing that Madagascar is at a pivotal point in protecting its globally significant biodiversity. The authors, Liva Raharijaona, 30x30 Coordinator at Madagascar’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, and James Deutsch, CEO of Rainforest Trust, wrote that more than 150,000 species on the island are found nowhere else, including lemurs, and that its forests still contain species not yet formally described by science.

The column says Madagascar’s conservation ambitions gained momentum in the early 2000s, when the government committed to protecting 10 percent of its land and territorial waters. It also notes that progress was disrupted after the 2009 political crisis, during which illegal rosewood cutting increased, deforestation worsened and protected-area projects faced delays. Local communities, conservation groups and some government officials continued work, but national coordination became more difficult.

According to the authors, Madagascar has recently renewed its commitment to the global 30x30 goal of protecting 30 percent of land and sea by 2030. They cite the advancement of 21 temporary protected areas covering more than three million acres, and a March 2026 conservation reprioritization by 50 scientists from seven fields that identified about 44 million acres of priority land.

The column frames this as a chance for Madagascar to rebuild leadership in conservation, while stressing that protected areas require legal backing, financing, management and community support. It calls for investment in Malagasy institutions, local organizations, enforcement, restoration, monitoring and livelihoods so conservation can also support people living near forests and marine areas.