Mananara Nord National Park

The Mananara Nord Biosphere Reserve is part of the global network of Biosphere Reserves. Launched in 1971, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) encourages interdisciplinary research, training and demonstration on resource management. It helps to improve the understanding of biophysical, socio-economic and cultural factors that affect the environment, and to increase the participation of scientists in decisions about more efficient use of resources.

The Mananara Nord National Park is located in the Mananara Nord district of the Analanjirofo region, 280km north of Toamasina (Tamatave). The park is bounded by the Mananara river to the north, the Sandrakatsy river and Fotsialanana river to the west, the Anove river to the south and the Indian Ocean to the east.

The entire Mananara Nord National Park consists of 23,000ha terrestrial park and 1,000ha marine park. The altitude reaches from 0m to 569m. The park is subject to a humid tropical climate. The average temperature is 25.2°C and the humidity is constantly high. It rains most of the year and can reach up to 2,900mm per year. There is a warm and rainy season from September to March and a cooler season from April to September. Mananara is often a passage area for tropical cyclones.

The Precambrian basement of Mananara, dating back 2,750 million years, belongs to the Antongilian system. Following geological metamorphisms that led to this substrate of rocks composed of amphibolites, micaschists, greenschist and schist, granitic intrusions of about 770 million years ago appeared which, together with Neocene alteration and erosion, are responsible for the orthogonal shape of the region's relief with narrowly linear valleys, rock walls, cascades and waterfalls, falling rocky shores and the hydrographic network following the lines of the landscape and valleys. This explains the difficulty of access to monitor the park, the history of linear fragmentation of the forest and the human occupation along the lines of valleys. The density of vegetation and the ability of forest regeneration worsen the problems as they favour the camouflage of offenders.

Due to presence of the South Equatorial Current coming from South Asia that runs along the east coast to become Madagascar's southward current, this current brings warm surface waters in all seasons and conditions the water temperature to never drop below 18°-20°C. In order to develop, coral reefs require warm, clear water (above 18°C) on a shallow bottom with 30 to 35% salinity, which is the case for the Mananara Nord Marine Park. At the highest sea (during high tide minus the half maximum hight of a wave) the water is between 25m and 35m deep. The Malagasy east coast is swept throughout the year by the Alizé (trade wind). The average wind speed is 20m/s.

The Mananara Nord National Park consists of a land and marine park that are both rich in biodiversity as well as natural and original beauty. The marine park is the first created in Madagascar. The site is commonly called Nosy Antafana. It is a set of three islets located 2.5km off Sahasoa. The largest is Nosy Be or Nosy Antafana, where a fresh water source is located. The second is Nosy Rangontsy, named after the man whose remains were the first to be deposited there. On this islet are a mangrove swamp, an expanse of brackish water with fish and in the east huge masses of granite. The last island and the smallest is Nosy Hely. It is a real marine ecosystem with various representative ecological niches. Coral reefs are among the most beautiful and rich in biodiversity of the east coast of Madagascar. The land park represents the eastern eco-region with littoral forests and forest islands.

Objectives of the site

The Mananara Nord National Park was established on 25th July 1989 by Presidential Decree No. 89/216. It is the first as a Biosphere Reserve in Madagascar. The objective of the site is the conservation of biodiversity in the national park (both marine and terrestrial), it must maintain the quality and quantity of biodiversity in the protected area.

The national park is also a water reservoir for the region with thirty sources, the most important are: Ambatomilogno, Fotsialanana, Hoalampano, Ivontaka, Mahavo, Manambato Manandriana, Mandemoko, Menatany, Sahantsidy, Saharamy, Sahasatrana, Sahasoa, Sahofiky, Tsihoronina, Vahibe, Vongohely, ...

The Mananara Nord Biosphere Reserve is home to a rich flora and fauna. These species require specific conservation actions as they are subject to pressures. They are key elements in the protected area and are referred to as conservation targets.

Conservation targets

The conservation targets of Mananara Nord National Park are:

* Dense humid forest of low altitude: It comprises almost all of the Mananara Nord Biosphere Reserve. Compared to the very small variation of altitude, the richness in micro-mammal is exceptional.

* Forest island Nosy Antafana: For years the island is exposed to an ongoing attack by a colony of Rattus rattus (Black rat) invading it.

* Coral reefs: The Mananara reefs are among the most beautiful with a great wealth of biodiversity.

* The species

• Dypsis antanambensis - endemic palm tree, critically endangered (grows only in the park, 49 mature individuals in total)
• Voanioala gerardii - a rare plant worldwide, critically endangered
• Allocebus trichotis - Hairy-eared dwarf lemur, never existed in large numbers. It is found in the vicinity of the Mananara River which is its exclusive habitat.

The site and local population

The Mananara Nord National Park is subjected to pressures for the

* terrestrial part:

• Land clearings, destroying the forest by burning
• Human occupations, as the population increases, inward penetration is inevitable.
• Illegal logging of precious woods and by-products.
• Poaching, lemurs, small mammals and birds are most attacked.

* marine part:

• Octopus fishing with harpoons
• Use of small mesh nets
• The abundance of rats on Nosy Antafana

Fauna

The best fauna most visible to tourists

Scientific name	English name	Malagasy name	Description	Where to find	When to find
Indri indri	Indri	Babakoto	Completely dark fur	Verezanantsoro Circuit	All year round
Varecia variegata	Black-and-white ruffed lemur	Varikandana	Easy to observe	Verezanantsoro Circuit	All year round
Eulemur albifrons	White-fronted brown lemur	Varikosibe	Easy to observe	Verezanantsoro Circuit, Ivontaka Sud Circuit, Varary Circuit	During the day
Brookesia superciliaris	Brown leaf chameleon	Ranovary	Tiny chameleon	Verezanantsoro Circuit, Ivontaka Sud Circuit, Varary Circuit	October to November
Euryceros prevostii	Helmet vanga	Siketribe	Indicator of an undisturbed forest	Verezanantsoro Circuit	All year round
Pteropus rufus	Madagascan flying fox	Fanihy		Nosy Antafana Circuit	All year round
Amphiprion latifasciatus	Madagascar anemonefish		Indicator of an intact habitat	Nosy Antafana aquatic Circuit	All year round

Inventories have identified:

On the terrestrial fauna,

• 77 species of birds
• 136 species of herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians of a particular region) identified throughout a survey in 2001
• 13 species of lemurs in the forest of the reserve
• 17 rodent species known in the low to medium altitude moist forest (0 - 1,200m) in northeastern Madagascar
• 7 species of freshwater fish in the surrounding of the park
• Regarding arthropods, Mananara Nord National Park forms with Zahamena National Park and Masoala National Park what is called the endemic centre of Madagascar
• The Mananara Nord National Park is one of the protected areas that has the highest number of micro-mammal species in the eastern ecoregion given its reduced altitude range and size, which barely covers one-tenth of the Masoala surface. Indeed, there are 16 species against 17, for which Masoala is the richest.

On the marine fauna,

• 132 species of cnidaria
• 64 species of molluscs
• 16 species of arthropods
• 34 species of echinoderms
• 179 species of fish
• 2 species of reptiles
• 2 species of mammals

Lemurs

An inventory identified 13 species of lemurs.

How to get there

By road from Antananarivo to Toamasina on RN2, then Toamasina to Mananara Nord on RN5. There is a paved road from Toamasina to Soanierana Ivongo and thereafter a secondary road from Soanierana Ivongo to Mananara. The roads are accessible all year round, but in poor condition. The total travel time from Antananarivo to the park is two to three days.

By taxi brousse from Antananarivo (Ambodivona bus station) to Toamasina and then from Toamasina (Tanambao V bus station) to Mananara.

By boat from Mananara to the park (1-1.5 hour by speedboat, 3-4 hours by slow boat), or from Antanambe to the park (45 minutes by speedboat). From Soanierana Ivongo or Sainte Marie to Mananara it takes 5 hours by boat respectively. The sea is calm from April to October.

Population

There are over 186 villages and hamlets. A large part of the population is farmers. The dominant agricultural activity is rice cultivation (slash/burn and irrigated) and cash crops. Mananara is the largest producer of cloves in Madagascar, of vanilla in the Toamasina province and is also one of the largest coffee producers. As for fishing, despite strong potential, fishery resources are still underutilised in Mananara.

The majority of the population consists of the Betsimisaraka ethnic group with a strong presence of Tsimihety and Métis Chinese (mixed-race), Betsileo and Merina. Most of the people live in the fertile valleys of Mananara, Sandrakatsy, Saharamy and Manambato.