Madagascar’s Ambohitantely Reserve: A Last Stand for Unique Wildlife in a Warming World
A critical forest reserve in central Madagascar is battling both deforestation and the escalating threat of climate change, putting its extraordinary biodiversity at risk.
The air hung thick with the scent of smoke, a pink haze illuminating the night sky above Madagascar’s central highlands. From my vantage point on the edge of the forest, the glow of distant wildfires traced the contours of the hills, just a few kilometers away. This is a special place – one of the last remaining forests in central Madagascar, a region ravaged by decades of deforestation, and a haven for an astonishing array of wildlife, including numerous chameleon species.
This story is part of a series of reports on conservation efforts in Madagascar, supported by the BAND Foundation.
The forest, home to over 400 tree species, persists thanks to decades of protection as the “Réserve Spéciale” Ambohitantely. It has successfully reduced illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, and other practices that have decimated surrounding forests and ecosystems across Madagascar.
But as I witnessed one night, even the best conservation efforts have their limits, especially as the land grows hotter. Now, protecting biodiversity like this – and saving some of the most remarkable creatures on Earth – requires more proactive approaches.
Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot unlike any other. If you encounter an animal in the forests of Madagascar, it’s often found nowhere else on Earth. This island nation, separated from other landmasses for millions of years, has allowed its fauna to evolve into unique forms. As a result, around 90% of the country’s plants and animals are endemic – meaning they exist nowhere else – including all of its lemurs and nearly half of its over 200 chameleon species.
The “Réserve Spéciale” Ambohitantely is a particularly rich site for both.
On a chilly night in September, at the end of the dry season in Madagascar, I walked through the forest of Ambohitantely with Fandresena Rakotoarimalala, a doctoral researcher at the University of Antananarivo studying the chameleons of the reserve. Chameleons are masters of camouflage – their defining characteristic, of course, is their ability to blend seamlessly into their surroundings. But when caught in the beam of a flashlight, they glow brilliantly, becoming easily visible. That’s why we walked at night.
We moved slowly through the forest, our flashlights illuminating the leaves and attracting moths and insects. We heard the rustling of geckos overhead. At one point, we spotted a day gecko – a brightly colored reptile with scales like tiny jewels – darting through the undergrowth.
Like many iconic Malagasy species, chameleons are also endangered. Around 100 chameleon species inhabit the island, and almost half are threatened with extinction, primarily due to habitat loss, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the global authority on the conservation status of species.
This is what made this nighttime walk so particularly compelling. Every few meters, Rakotoarimalala – affectionately known as the “Chameleon Queen” – would pause and point out a tiny form clinging to a leaf. Most were young “Perinet” chameleons, small-bodied with emerald-green skin. She also spotted several “à cornes-globes” – a critically endangered species with a distinctive triangular head, their eyes capable of swiveling independently.
In just a few hours that night, we observed over 60 chameleons, representing three different species. And this abundance is one of the key reasons why protecting Ambohitantely is so vital, Rakotoarimalala explained, as she studies the health and genetics of the chameleons within the reserve. The loss of this reserve would be a devastating blow to the entire group.
Traditionally, protecting wildlife involves creating protected areas, like national parks and reserves, which often restrict activities that harm the environment. But in Madagascar and many other impoverished nations, these protected areas haven’t always been effective. People often have no choice but to rely on the forest for their livelihoods, whether or not it’s legally protected.
Ambohitantely is different. Managed by a non-governmental organization called Madagascar National Parks (MNP), the reserve has been successful in reducing deforestation, in part because the forest is remote and far from densely populated areas. Its relatively small size also makes it easier to monitor.
However, protection isn’t absolute.
The biggest threat facing Ambohitantely today is human-caused wildfires. Local villagers practice slash-and-burn agriculture for various reasons, such as clearing land for cattle grazing or following traditional practices. And all too often, these fires spread out of control. Between 1989 and 2017, roughly half of Ambohitantely’s forest was lost, largely due to wildfires. In 2022 alone, a third of the remaining forest burned, according to Jacquis Andonahary, a botanist with the local conservation organization Association Vahatra, which works within the reserve.
Climate change, meanwhile, is exacerbating the problem.
The maximum daily temperature at Ambohitantely has risen by around 1 degree Celsius since 1980. And rising temperatures dry out vegetation, adding to the amount of flammable material available for wildfires. “The length of the dry season is getting longer, so there’s more and more fuel available to burn,” said Steve Goodman, a researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History and vice president of Vahatra.
This isn’t a problem unique to Madagascar. Climate change is making vegetation more flammable in many regions around the world, whether within protected areas or not.
While wildfires continue to destroy valuable habitat at Ambohitantely, scientists at Vahatra, reserve staff, and local communities are working hard to restore it. Their approach is simple: plant trees.
Over the past few years, Vahatra has been reforesting areas burned by fire, as a way to maintain the diversity of species within the reserve. (As forest size decreases, so does the number of plant and animal species it can support.)
Ensuring the trees survive is challenging. First, it’s crucial to plant species that are suited to the local soil and conditions. Andonahary conducted research within the forest to identify which trees grow there and what conditions they require (soil type, sunlight, etc.). Then, Vahatra and local communities collected seeds, germinated them in nurseries, and planted the seedlings along the edges of the remaining forest, adding fertilizer to help them grow. “Over 90% of the planted trees survive,” Andonahary told me. This is a significant achievement, as tree planting is often unsuccessful.
Once the trees are planted, researchers and community members work to protect them from fire. Reserve managers provide small payments to people living nearby to conduct patrols and look for signs of fire. They also have backpacks filled with water that they can use to extinguish small flames.
More importantly, Vahatra and MNP have established two parallel lines around Ambohitantely, called firebreaks – strips of land cleared of vegetation that can act as barriers to prevent fires from spreading. This is a simple solution, one that has been used by people, including Indigenous communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia, for centuries to control wildfires.
The fire I saw that night in September didn’t reach Ambohitantely – thanks to these efforts. It was extinguished by firefighters working for MNP, according to Ricky Tiavina Rakotonindrina, an MNP employee who manages the reserve.
But, inevitably, there will be other fires. Climate change is only making that more likely. So the question now is: will these efforts be enough to protect the reserve – and all the treasures within, including those yet to be discovered?
