The MIRAY Program for Eco-region-Based Conservation and Development

July 1998 - March 2004

Please note that this is a closed, archived program.

MIRAY, with a grant from USIAD and under the leadership of Pact and its partners, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund, is supporting the second phase of the government of Madagascar's National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), which seeks to develop national capacities to manage natural resources sustainably at the local, regional and national level. Experience under NEAP's first phase clearly indicated that conservation efforts that do not address rural and urban poverty will not succeed. At the same time, economic and rural development that attempts to ignore Madagascar's pressing needs for sustainable natural resource management and conservation of precious biodiversity resources is likewise unsustainable.

Pact's Approach

Because of the innovative new tools and concepts, such as ecoregional planning, and the landscape ecology approach introduced under the second phase of NEAP, the MIRAY team has adopted a technical approach based on the following inter-related concepts:

• Use of lessons learned from phase I for continual review, learning and adaptation to the rapidly-evolving reality of conservation and development in Madagascar.
• Boosting participation through partnerships to capitalize on program synergy, integration and complementarities.
• Sharing/providing technical assistance to empower partners and increase capacity and accountability.
• Collecting, analyzing and disseminating key information to facilitate and improve decision-making.

Using these concepts, the Miray program aims to accomplish the following:

• To institutionalize the landscape ecology approach by supporting the National Environmental Office's AGERAS initiative, a process for consultation, negotiation and planning at the ecoregional level, as well as related supporting structures (e.g. central and regional AGERAS teams, central and regional consultative and program committees).
• To improve the management of national parks and protected areas by strengthening the institutional capacity of ANGAP (the government agency in charge of protected areas and ecotourism) and establishing mechanisms and structures to enable and encourage the use of national parks for the development of ecotourism in partnership with private sector operators (hotel owners, tour operators and park guides.)
• To develop the capacity of MEF (the ministry for water and forests) and local communities for a sustainable and improved management of natural resources, particularly forest resources through community and private sector participation.

Interim results

• Aided the National Office of the Environment in putting in place and training eco-regional planning teams. With technical assistance from the Miray program, these teams are facilitating regional and local task forces made up of multiple governmental and nongovernmental actors to identify and analyze regional natural resource management issues and actions to respond to these issues.
• Provided technical and material support to the National Environment Office for the development of: 1) region-based environmental activity plans for the year 2000; 2) clear methodologies and participatory processes to engaged multiple local and regional stakeholders in the regional planning process; and 3) a national information sharing network for improved access to and use of elaborate existing environmental databases.
• Selected Tany Meva, Africa's first environmental foundation, as the local partner responsible for the management of US$500,000 in eco-regional conservation and development grants on behalf of the Miray partners and USAID.
• Helped ANGAP consolidate its legislative basis through the drafting of, lobbying for, and approval by the National Assembly in May 2001 of the Malagasy Code of Protected Areas (COAP).
• Provided assistance to strengthen ANGAP's management capacity, including conservation management and ecological monitoring. The support produced:
  • a protected areas management plan that defines the networks of territories that make up Madagascar's ecosystems and sets management orientations for each territory as well as the whole system
  • a strategic plan with impact indicators and performance targets to assist with the set up of a decentralized management structure
  • an institutional review that assessed ANGAP's capacity and set forth plans for skills development in several areas, including environmental interpretation for the general public, tour guide management, and ANGAP's ability to identify and articulate its own technical assistance needs; and a sustainability plan that includes identification of funding alternatives and the adoption of a funding program.
• Provided technical support and financial resources to promote ecotourism in the protected areas, including service plans for two pilot parks to provide high quality visitor services and increase visitation, and the improvement of ecotourism facilities and services in seven priority sites (interpretation centers, trails, camping sites, interpretive panels, ect.).
• Developed participatory regional communication plans to define and send appropriate environmental key messages to target-groups, leading to behavioral change for sustainable management of natural resources. These include production of radio programs addressing bushfire, soil erosion, irrational use of forest resources and production of charcoal, and posters.
• Provided organizational capacity building services to local partners, especially community groups/associations and regional networks involved in the implementation of the NEAP/phase II. Training included financial management, conflict resolution, institutional setup for regional networks, internal and external communication techniques and mechanisms, and establishment of structures and processes for frequent consultation among grassroots communities.
• Established and operationalized regional information systems and networks to develop and manage cross-sectoral databases for use in the ecoregional planning process. Information systems were established in Mahajanga, Fianarantsoa, and Anosy. Data and information generated were extensively used as decision-making tool and knowledge base for constructive participation, especially for grassroots groups/communities. The maps, satellite images, and databases compiled by Pact's knowledge management unit using geographical information system (GIS) techniques were extensively used by partners in other sectors, including regional development planning (the World Bank), health (The International Alliance Against HIV/AIDS and John Snow International), natural disaster preparedness (CARE USA), and agricultural development (Chemonics).
• In Madagascar Pact's technical assistance in knowledge management has created opportunities for informed decision-making and accountable participation in the implementation of the government's national environmental action plan (NEAP). The Ministries of Water and Forests, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, the Environment, and Energy and Mines have established project management units to implement NEAP. These technical units provide an opportunity for synergetic collaboration aimed at improving implementation effectiveness. The Ministry of Water and Forests has also developed a management information system to monitor the forest resources exploitation permit system, document permit issuance, ensure proper controls on forest resources exploitation, and minimize the illicit exploitation of these precious resources.