Fruit-frugivore interactions in a Malagasy littoral forest - Universiteit ...

Conservation
Ferraro (2001) has noticed that benefits from tourism in Ranomafana are only seasonal
and have been captured by a relatively small subset of the population, which are often
migrants. This should be avoided by all means. Butterfly farming and beekeeping were
proposed as other economical opportunities by QMM and the latter was set up by QMM
in Mandena and Sainte Luce. This initiative was welcomed with great enthusiasm by the
local people (Vincelette and Ramanamanjato pers. comm.). Different possibilities can be
thought of as long as they offer benefits for both the local people and the littoral forest.
Exclusively protected areas may have a negative impact on the livelihood of residents
that cultivate the land and/or collect and sell fuel and construction wood to the fishermen.
They need to be compensated by recruitment as tourist guides, forest guards, workers in
the plantations and so on. Compared to sites more inland, this is only a small percentage
of the population in Sainte Luce. Another possibility to diminish the locals’ impact on the
littoral forest in general is to offer alternatives for their fishing gear, such as more
synthetic materials (nylon or plastics). By the same token, gas or Eucalyptus charcoal
may be a better alternative for charcoal and indigenous firewood. Overall, it is very
important that ecologically, economically and socially sustainable solutions to the
conservation of biodiversity are searched for as well as the wise management of natural
resources.
We further believe that environmental education in the villages is of great importance.
The first and second author had several meetings with the local authorities and gave
presentations in the local school regarding research activities in the forest. We explained
the purpose of our studies and the relevance of conserving this ecosystem. These
meetings always attracted lots of people and should definitely be continued in the future
to include all parties in the process of decision-making and to improve social acceptance
of conservation plans.
Future studies
Even though dynamics of the littoral forest ecosystem are slowly revealed, much more
data are necessary. First of all, a community wide study on pollination is needed, as no
seed setting can occur without it. Secondly there is an urgent need for long-term data on
phenology in order to predict periods of fruit scarcity and to define important food species,
which can be consequently planted in corridors and/or plantations to facilitate and
enhance germination. Thirdly future studies should focus on patterns of seed shadows
and post-dispersal survival of seeds and seedlings across the full range of habitats
including both intact as well as degraded landscapes. Managers need to be able to
predict which species will survive in forest fragments in order to identify which ones are
potentially most threatened by deforestation and thus should be given priority for planting
(Chapman and Peres 2001). Furthermore, once we get insight on community wide plantanimal
interactions, it is necessary to estimate minimum viable population sizes of
animals and their tolerance to forest fragmentation, translocation or re-introduction, which
will become a necessary tool in the littoral forest due to the future mining plans. Finally a
follow up is needed to assess whether they make use of plantations and corridors. Most
studies in the past have been carried out in primary and protected forest. This approach
may not serve the interests of conservation as we need to be able to evaluate
conservation action plans and to reformulate these based on new findings. Future
research should be carried out by animal ecologists, plant population biologists and forest
managers collaborating closely together in order to find a better balance between timber
harvesting, biodiversity conservation and sustainable management. Even though more
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