COMMIT TO CLIMATE ACTION
LEVER 4
AGROFORESTRY
TO COMBAT
DEFORESTATION
Over the past 60 years, Madagascar has lost nearly 44% of its forest cover. Deforestation is accelerating rapidly, and the country ranks fourth worldwide for forest loss, with 510,000 hectares destroyed in a single year—equivalent to 48.5 times the area of Paris—according to Global Forest Watch. This is partly driven by farmers’ need for arable land and the use of slash-and-burn agriculture, particularly for rice, Madagascar’s staple food. To prevent this process, which is harmful to soils and the climate, Authentic Products developed an agroforestry programme and established eight nurseries for fuelwood, construction timber and cash-crop seedlings through the Savanille project (three nurseries) and the Authentic Vanille project (five nurseries).
LEVER 5
LAUNCH A VANILLA CARBON OFFSET PROGRAMME
Reducing climate impact requires the development of agroforestry, as described above, as well as the restoration of Madagascar’s forest cover. In 2020, five hectares were planted through the Authentic Vanille project. The project aimed to plant ten hectares in 2021 and a further three hectares across the three municipalities covered by the Savanille project. Authentic Products therefore planned a large-scale reforestation campaign with its partner nursery, Forest Madagascar. The nursery supplies seedlings and offers around fifty forest species for reforestation in the SAVA region. To support the campaign’s success, 100,000 seedlings were held in reserve for planting.
LEVER 6
CONSERVATION OF
NATURAL
FAUNAL AND
FLORAL
HABITATS IN MADAGASCAR
Madagascar is home to exceptional biodiversity, characterised by a very high rate of endemism. To help preserve this biodiversity, Authentic Products surveys the animal and plant species present in the areas where its programmes are based and identifies the most vulnerable ecosystems. These observations enable the organisation to strengthen protective measures and establish buffer zones between agricultural plots and natural habitats.
This approach is accompanied by training and awareness-raising initiatives for producers, local communities and younger generations. The development of agroforestry, the planting of local species and the reintroduction of native plants into vanilla plots help to preserve wildlife, flora and soil, whilst enhancing the resilience of crops to climate change.
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