ConservationThe Mikea Forest has attracted the attention of international conservation groups. It contains a high diversity of birds including two species only found in the Mikea Forest; plus a diversity of reptiles, insects, and plant species. In 2002, a Commission Mixte consisting of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), Conservation International (CI), and Madagascar's Office National pour l'Environnement (ONE), worked with the Malagasy military and tribunal system to put an end to slash-and-burn maize cultivation, a potential menace to the Mikea Forest ecosystem. The Commission worked with local communities to enforce the ban. Still, many local people resented it; the end of maize caused some food shortage. Soon after, the World Bank offered funding to create a Mikea Forest National Park. The park will be managed by two agencies: Madagascar's Association National pour le Gestion des Aires Protégées (ANGAP), a branch of ONE; and the Fikambanana Miaro ny Ala Mikea (FiMaMi), a league of all the elected mayors from rural townships that contain the Mikea Forest. The World Bank defines Mikea as an indigenous peoples, for whom the park must provide special protection. ANGAP officials claim that Mikea will not be displaced when the park is formed. Mikea will live in a Zone d'Occupation Côntrolé or ZOC within which their use of the forest will be managed. Seeing as there are several thousand Mikea, it seems inevitable that their economic needs and the Park's conservation plans will not always coincide. The future of Mikea livelihoods is therefore uncertain. |
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Titanium MiningIn parts of the Mikea Forest such as the Namonte Basin, there is a wonderful salt-and-pepper colored sand with a clean feel underfoot. The "pepper" part of this sand is titanium. A titanium mining corporation has done some pilot extraction near Lake Ihotry, as they have done throughout the island of Madagascar. Millions of dollars have been spent improving roads, bridges, and the port of Taolañaro (Fort Dauphin) for titanium exportation. Their plans for the Mikea Forest region remain unclear. We think it would be an unspeakable tragedy if the Namonte Basin, a region of great history and natural beauty, was turned into a strip mine. |
Poverty, food insecurity, and political marginalizationMikea are among the poorest people in the world. They have limited access to commodities, livestock, medical care, and education, and almost no voice in regional or national politics.Focus groups conducted in 2006 reveal that Mikea define wealth as private property, especially livestock. Some Mikea have more livestock than many Masikoro. But Mikea cannot spend their wealth outside of the forest. As one man explained, "because we dig through dirt for a living, we are always dirty and wear torn clothing. Villagers see us and know immediately that we are Mikea, and try to exploit us," by not giving fair wages or prices for livestock. This is structural inequality. Mikea defined poverty as food insecurity, an insufficient supply of nutritious and culturally-appropriate food. Mikea sometimes exceed poor Masikoro farmers in food security because Mikea have greater access to immediate return activities such as tuber foraging. But when these food sources run out, Mikea households find little eat, as often occurs during the rainy season (Dec-Feb). Mikea tend to be shorter than their neighbors, indicating poor nutrition during childhood growth and development. Mikea have limited access to state services. Mikea often cannot defend their ownership of livestock or land because they cannot read the necessary paperwork, have no access to legal council, and cannot find their way to the appropriate offices in Toliara. The State and missionaries sponsor schools, but school attendence costs money and subtracts the child's foraging labor from the household portfolio. Mikea vote in national elections, but they often do not understand what they are voting for. |
Infectious disease |
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Among the leading causes of death for Mikea are tuberculosis and cholera. Entire communities have been devasted by these diseases, even though they are treated for free at clinics run by the state and by Lutheran and Catholic missions. The problem is that treatment requires living near a clinic in a village full of strangers for several months, which most Mikea cannot afford. Rates of reinfection are high. Tuberculosis and cholera become AIDS for those who are HIV-positive. Sexually transmitted diseases are prevalent. From 2002 to 2003 we worked with SALFA (the Lutheran Health Mission) at their clinic in the village of Vorehe on a pilot program to supply free STD screening and treatment. In the first 2 months 171 people attended the program: 30% tested positive for syphillus, and 22% for gonorrhea/chlamydia. Unfortunately, funds did not exist to continue this program. HIV has not been screened in the region. It is probably prevalent, for people have many unprotected sexual partners. |
 SALFA clinic, Vorehe |