Below, please find the non-technical summary of the ESDD carried out in Makira-Masoala.
Background
The Makira-Masoala landscape in north-east Madagascar encompasses two protected areas: Makira Natural Park, established in 2012, and Masoala National Park established in 1997. Both are classified as IUCN category II and recognized internationally as key biodiversity areas (KBA). The Landscape covers a total area of 10,548 km², including a strictly protected area (6,031 km²) and community-managed areas located in the buffer zone (4,516 km²). For further details on Makira-Masoala legacy landscape (LL), please consult the program page.
Methodology
Makira-Masoala’s environmental and social due diligence (ESDD) was carried out by a joint consulting team, IBIS Environmental Social Governance Consulting South Africa and Aquaterre, from January to July 2023. The ESDD involved a document review, followed by a field visit in March that was advanced by a team of international (IBIS) and national (Aquaterre) environmental and social specialists in the Antananarivo and Maroantsera regions. Key stakeholders, including local authorities, local community organizations or “communautés de base” (COBA) members, and traditional authorities were interviewed individually and in focus groups, and the information collected was complemented by a site visit.
Main Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts
The risks identified in the ESDD are divided into two categories: contextual risks and program-funded activity risks. Contextual risks included the overexploitation of natural resources/deforestation, in the form of illicit traffic of timber and bush meat from protected zones, swidden (slash-and-burn) agriculture, some outstanding compensation claims and disputes over access to land from the establishment of the two protected areas, as well as weaknesses of the country’s judiciary system, and high demographic growth. The most relevant program-funded risks are impacts from the implementation of alternative livelihood/income generation projects, including program benefits unequal distribution within traditional governance systems (elite capture), customary land tenure and land use claims within core protection zones of the protected areas, challenges related to the involvement of some groups in vulnerability during program implementation, and insufficiencies related to some environmental and social (ES) procedures, especially in Masoala National Park.
ESDD Categorization
Makira-Masoala LL has been classified as a category B+ (substantial risk) program by the ESDD carried out by Ibis and Aquaterre. Contextual risks were classified as B+ (substantial), whereas risks related to funded program activities were categorized as B (moderate), resulting in a B+ overall risk category.
Foreseen Mitigation Measures as per ESAP
Makira-Masoala’s environmental and social action plan (ESAP) is an instrument to continually improve management of the program’s ES risks and impacts, and its alignment with LLF’s environmental and social standards. The high priority actions spelled out in the Makira-Masoala ESAP are the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between Madagascar National Parks and WCS for management of the Masoala National Park, recruitment of an ES safeguards coordinator at the national level for WCS, implementation of an internal and external grievance redress mechanism (GRM) covering all program areas, the development of a law enforcement risk assessment, and the assessment of ES impacts related to development, resources management, and livelihood projects within the program area, including the community managed areas in the buffer area.
For more information, please consult the following links: