Location: Fianarantsoa Province Map
Area: 41,600 hectares (161 square miles)
Ranomafana National Park lies in the Fianarantsoa
Province of Madagascar. Ranomafana National Park covers 41,600
hectares (161 square miles). Ranumafana National Park is located in
the southeast of Madagascar in the province of Fianarantsoa. The
national park is known for its waterfalls and hot springs, as well
as the variety of primates and birds. It was founded in 1991.
Together with other national parks, Madagascar has been part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007.
The national park is
densely covered with rain forests. Thanks to the evergreen
rainforests, a wide variety of plants such as orchids, tree ferns
and mosses thrive here. The park is home to a total of twelve
species of lemurs and 118 species of birds, 68 of which are
endangered by Madagascar.
Situation
It is located 65 km northeast of
Fianarantsoa and 139 km west of Mananjary in the Haute Matsiatra and
Vatovavy regions. It is crossed by National Roads No. 45 and No. 252. To
reach the national park, you have to travel 412 km to the southeast of
the Malagasy capital, Antananarivo.
Ranomafana Park is located
north of the forest corridor that connects it to Andringitra National
Park.
Description
The park covers just over 41,600 ha of steep
hills at an altitude of between 600 and 1400m. The park makes the
transition between the Betsileo country, in the west, in the mountains
at an altitude higher than 800 m and in the East the Tanala country
located between 600 and 800m. Thus the park is exposed towards the east
and receives the trade winds, the inclination of the slopes is between
10 and 50%.
Its total perimeter is 254 km (which gives a shape
index approximately equal to 4), it extends over 80 km from North to
South, with a width of 7 to 15 km from West to East.
Ranomafana National Park was created in May 1991 by the government of Madagascar.
The tropical rainforests of the park are home to extraordinary biodiversity, including a large number of endemic animal and plant species from Madagascar. The classification of the park follows the discovery of the golden bamboo lemur - Hapalemur aureus -, a species limited to this area, and the rediscovery of the Prolemur simus. Varecia variegata, another species of lemur restricted to the lowland forest, is one of the conservation priorities.
The majority of the area of the park is covered with
tropical rainforest, which can be differentiated into lowland rainforest
up to an altitude of 800m and subhumid montane forest above. Priority
habitats for conservation are:
The Pandanus Forest;
The bamboo
forest, the species Cathariostachys madagascariensis is a major resource
for lemurs of the genus Hapalemur;
The perimeter is traversed by a
dense hydrographic network, 25 rivers have names. Swamps are sometimes
associated with rivers in the lowlands, they constitute priority
environments for the originality of their biodiversity and because of
the threats to their integrity.
Certain sectors within the
perimeter underwent selective cutting before the classification of the
zone in 1991. The secondary forest is identifiable by the presence of
the traveller's trees and by an average diameter of the trees lower than
that measured in the forest sectors. primary.
The families represented in the humid forest are
Apocynaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, Arecaceae (Palm trees) are
represented by the Dypsis and Phloga genera.
Epiphytic plants are
very numerous given the humidity, there are for example orchids
belonging to the Angraecum genera including A. sesquipedale,
Bulbophyllum, Cynorkis fastigiata, Disperis tripetaloides, Eulophia
macra, Oeonia volucris as well as the Asplenium nidus fern.
The fauna of Madagascar is very diverse and a large
part of the species is endemic, due to the size of the island and its
isolation.
Mammals are represented by at least 13 species of
rodents, 20 of insectivores, 7 of carnivores of the Viverridae family, 7
of bats, including the endemic species Myzopoda aurita. 13 species of
lemurs4 complete the list for the order of primates.
115 species of birds are represented, of the 257 in Madagascar, the majority of taxa are endemic.
Regarding the herpetofauna, 98 species of amphibians
and the territory is home to 24 species of lizards, 22 of snakes and 16
of chameleons for reptiles.
63 families of insects are present
including 90 butterflies divided into 6 families. 50 species of carabid
beetles have been recorded, with a strong variation in diversity and
abundance during the year. Still among the beetles, Trachelophorus
giraffa is a curiosity with its giraffe neck. 350 species of spiders are
added to this diversified entomofauna.
Management and
Administration
The management of this park is delegated to Madagascar
National Parks, an association under Malagasy law. It is partially
funded by the Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity of
Madagascar (FAPBM).
In the area near the national park, over a radius of 5
km around, the landscape is occupied by the cultivation of rice in
mosaic with other crops on the sloping land, and areas of forest in the
process of regenerating, even old growth forest. In the entire area,
park and surroundings, at the time of its creation, about 26,000 people
lived in more than a hundred villages, half of the villages had less
than 150 inhabitants. In 2008, there were 137 villages in the peripheral
zone which had a total population of 54,000.
The economic cost of
establishing this protected area for local populations is estimated at
3.37 million US dollars.
A hydroelectric plant is located on the
Namorona River, at the level of a 250m high waterfall. It produces 18.7
MW, and supplies the regions of Fianarantsoa, Ambalavao and Mananjary.
Public access - Home
The Malagasy government
requires an entrance fee to national parks and reserves, this fee is
higher for foreigners, and visits are obligatorily guided. The reception
office is at the entrance to the park in Ambodiamontana, located 6.5 km
from the village of Ranomafana. There is a stopover lodge and an
ecolodge managed by a private tourist operator.
Visibility and
promotion of the park
In 2012, singer Jerry Marcoss participated in a
campaign initiated by the United States Department of State in
Madagascar to promote conservation and ecotourism in Ranomafana National
Park. He then shoots a clip there.
A source of hot water
Near
the Namorona River, a spa has been installed on a natural hot spring.
The infrastructures were built in 1973, under the colonial regime. A
presidential residence is located on the site. The center welcomes about
60 visitors per day, of which about ten follow a thermal cure.
Tourist circuits — Hiking
5 circuits are proposed for the discovery
of the Park.
Ranomafana is one of the three most visited National Parks in Madagascar, 12,354 tourists chose it as a destination in 2009. In the case of Ranomafana National Park, at least until 2017, tourism, and in particular ecotourism , have not had the expected economic and environmental benefits, creating few jobs. Guide positions cannot generally be filled by local villagers, indeed this position, which is very well paid, requires knowledge of English and French and notions of local biodiversity, yet the population is 90% illiterate.