Madagascar’s Forests Falling to Illegal Loggers and Government Inaction

Madagascar’s unparalleled National Parks, which are also UNESCO World Heritage sites, are being infiltrated and destroyed by illegal loggers. The livelihoods of many Malagasy citizens and the wildlife that depend on these resources are being systematically plundered by timber mafias who feed end markets that forgo legality and sustainability.

The illegal harvest and smuggling of precious rosewood and ebony is ongoing, with hundreds of thousands of these endangered trees being shipped surreptitiously from Madagascar to China, Europe, and the United States over the past decade.

During this time, indiscriminate sourcing practices from companies like Gibson Guitars in the United States and big rosewood furniture manufacturers in China, continued to perpetuate the demand that drives this illegal trade. Rosewood sells for between $25,000 and $75,000 per ton in China. A Malagasy logger gets two to five of those dollars. The rest goes to corporate profits and the timber mafia.

Both the Malagasy government and these large consuming nations have a responsibility to put an end to this illicit and devastating trade. While there is much evidence that links the illegal timber operators to the new government of Madagascar, the President has declared war on the illegal rosewood trade. The world must watch closely to see how he will act. Madagascar has a historic opportunity to show the world that it is strong enough to stand up to the timber mafias who are holding the people of Madagascar and its natural resources hostage.

China, the United States, Europe, and other key consuming and transit nations must rise to embrace this opportunity as well to crack down on illegal traders and refuse to accept rosewood and ebony products that have been illegally harvested or exported.

Razia Said, a Malagasy-born New York singer, has just completed her “Wake Up Madagascar” tour to bring global attention to these pressing issues and seek lasting change. Razia was born and raised near Masoala National Park, one of Madagascar’s most spectacular parks filled with lemurs that live exclusively in that park as well as a myriad of other endemic species; but she has seen the water in her community dry up and the impact of cyclones become more devastating in recent years due to the massive deforestation in the park and throughout her country.

Now is the moment, as Madagascar is attempting to rise from political turmoil, for these precious resources to be given a chance to survive. The world must work together to support the objectives of the Malagasy people to preserve their forests and livelihoods. Madagascar’s new government must take decisive action to arrest and prosecute the leaders of the timber mafias, and welcome assistance from the international community to investigate the international links supporting these criminal networks, smuggling rosewood out of Madagascar’s national parks.