People-First Watershed Conservation
Fanny collecting a water sample from a spring capture system
Our 4x4 stuck in the mud and requiring help from passers by
Our NGO, Feedback Madagascar, aims to facilitate forest rejuvenation and conservation by alleviating poverty among people living close to the forest corridor, encouraging them to maintain the natural world around them to improve their own resource accessibility.
For this project, we were working in affiliation with Conservation International to increase awareness and education of watershed management while also characterising the water quality in the area, from mountain source to community water point. The project’s focus was on the prevention of open defecation (a regular practice in this area of Madagascar where access to sanitation is limited) and education of local people to recognise and understand their human rights regarding water access, as many people are unaware that international laws exist to attempt to eradicate water poverty. The project also encouraged these same groups to lobby local authorities to improve access to water infrastructure. Essentially, the aim was to improve watershed quality and living standards while promoting forest conservation from within the local communities.
Eventually we arrived in Ikongo after dark and the next day we set to work. With part of the team holding a workshop for representatives from 15 local communities, the rest began collecting water samples to characterise the water quality of the watershed. Our first day saw us collecting samples from a range of sources including a borehole, a mountain spring, a village fountain and a river; this was a pattern that would be repeated in four separate regions over the 10-day investigation. As well as parameters such as pH, we were especially interested in the presence of thermotolerant coliform bacteria (e.g., E. coli) which indicate faecal contamination, an issue prevalent here.
Our 4x4 stuck in the mud and requiring help from passers by
Our NGO, Feedback Madagascar, aims to facilitate forest rejuvenation and conservation by alleviating poverty among people living close to the forest corridor, encouraging them to maintain the natural world around them to improve their own resource accessibility.
For this project, we were working in affiliation with Conservation International to increase awareness and education of watershed management while also characterising the water quality in the area, from mountain source to community water point. The project’s focus was on the prevention of open defecation (a regular practice in this area of Madagascar where access to sanitation is limited) and education of local people to recognise and understand their human rights regarding water access, as many people are unaware that international laws exist to attempt to eradicate water poverty. The project also encouraged these same groups to lobby local authorities to improve access to water infrastructure. Essentially, the aim was to improve watershed quality and living standards while promoting forest conservation from within the local communities.
Eventually we arrived in Ikongo after dark and the next day we set to work. With part of the team holding a workshop for representatives from 15 local communities, the rest began collecting water samples to characterise the water quality of the watershed. Our first day saw us collecting samples from a range of sources including a borehole, a mountain spring, a village fountain and a river; this was a pattern that would be repeated in four separate regions over the 10-day investigation. As well as parameters such as pH, we were especially interested in the presence of thermotolerant coliform bacteria (e.g., E. coli) which indicate faecal contamination, an issue prevalent here.
After a day of collecting water samples from our various target areas we returned to our hotel to set up our field laboratory for bacteria analysis. While this was relatively easy in our first base where we had a table, space and electricity, our next locations were slightly more problematic, and we performed most of our analysis in the dark by torchlight on whatever table we could find; it was often a challenge to ensure a sterile environment for our analysis! Throughout our 10-day expedition we found many water sources (including groundwater) were contaminated with bacteria, highlighting the problems present in this region and the need for improved watershed management.
My colleague Nathalie emphasised the need for increased community engagement and education. Having worked in this region for over 15 years, Nathalie has had firsthand experience of a multitude of foreign development projects that have had only short-term effects and failed to deliver any sort of lasting improvement.
An example of our mobile laboratory setup
“In 15 years” says Nathalie, “the situation has barely improved and people are just as poor as they were back then. We need to start encouraging the local communities not to wait for the government or NGOs to come and improve things, but to have the confidence to take their own initiative, to know that they can make the changes themselves. People need to have pride in their community and their surrounding environment. Only then will people have the desire to improve the natural world around them”.
One of the biggest issues in this region is the ongoing practise of open defecation which we discovered, in our analysis, is having a large impact on the local water quality. With a lack of sanitation facilities and awareness of how open defecation can pollute the environment people often relieve themselves in nature. While defecation does not occur directly into the rivers, it takes place close by. Therefore, when the next rains come, the ensuing surface-water run-off from the valleys flows into the water courses, transporting excrement into the rivers and streams. The groundwater also had faecal contamination problems; however, the cause of this is less clear as it could be due to misplaced pit latrines or infiltration of contaminated surface water into the aquifer systems.
Another issue is the practice of Tavy, which involves burning forest to clear space for agriculture, utilising the fertile ash of the trees to nourish the planted crops. This is not a sustainable practise as year-by-year, new areas of forest are destroyed and not allowed to regrow, while the fertility offered by the ash from the burned trees is short lived. The lack of forest eventually leads to infertile soils, soil erosion and further sediment transport which increases river pollution. A resulting decrease in rain infiltration leads to less available groundwater for the natural ecosystems and human consumption. The presence of illegal settlements high on the mountain side, and often within protected areas of forest, also puts pressure on the natural ecosystems. Laws exist to prevent people living high up in the watershed; however, the rules are rarely enforced and when people have been living there for multiple generations and rely on the surrounding land to feed their families it becomes an incredibly challenging problem to solve
The situation can be improved. With enthusiasm and motivation, local people can encourage those around them to take ownership of their environment and improve the situation. There is a great example of this change in Ambohimahamasina, a region to the southwest of Ikongo. Here, locals developed agroforestry projects and enterprises such as turkey farming which has helped to improve livelihoods, food yields and limited the need for expansion into the natural forests, thus protecting forest cover; this was further helped by ongoing tree planting programs in the area. There was a focus on empowering women to take leadership roles and improve reproductive health, family planning and household nutrition. Projects may be small and village-specific; however, when they work well, there is a snowball effect, as people in neighbouring villages see their success and are inspired to replicate and spread the techniques learned. The example set by villages in Ambohimahamasina shows that with motivation and pride in one’s land, watersheds can be improved in a matter of years and people can begin to live more harmoniously with nature once again.
The next stage is to encourage people in the Ikongo region to do the same. In addition, if people are also aware of their human rights with regards to water poverty, they will be more likely to lobby local governments to bring change to their regions. People often do not challenge the restriction of their human rights, believing that local authorities hold the power and that without their support nothing can be achieved. But pressure can come from the ground up and force the change that is needed by influencing local governments to take action.
This situation is multi-faceted. One needs only to visit the area to understand some of the challenges that exist in helping people to improve their standard of living and increase positive interactions with nature; the poor road quality, the lack of clean water and sanitation, the low income level and the steep mountain terrain are just some of the reasons why progress is inevitably slow. However, the more that local people can be encouraged to lead the charge themselves, the more chance there is of lasting improvement.