Sifaka Conservation Project at Ankirihitra (District of Ambato Boeni ; Boeny Region, Province of Mahajanga)

Evaluating Resource Potential in the Forests of Ankirihitra

*Inventory of natural resources at Ankirihitra*

An evaluation of the resources available in the conservation zone andcommunity-use zone was conducted in October and November 2016. The aim was to identify the stock available at these sites, with a view to the sustainable and efficient management of these existing resources.

According to the study, which was carried out in close collaboration with the local communities, Forestry Regional Department of the Boeny Region, and forest cantonment of Tsaramandroso, 73 species are listed over an area of 2.5 hectares.

In the community-use zone, the forest largely comprises naturally regenerating species. The ratio between the number of small and large diameter stems per hectare suggests a forest stand that has undergone severe disturbance in the past. The small, or even non-existent, number of stems with large diameters indicates that it is mainly large diameter trees which have been exploited in the past. For the conservation area, the forest is largely in a state of natural regeneration. Small trees are dominant, and density decreases as diameters increase.