Cyclones in Madagascar

Nosy Varika lies on the south-east coast of Madagascar, cut off from the rest of the island. Radio communication is the only contact the inhabitants have with the outside world. There are no telephones and no communications networks. Even in the dry season, the area is difficult to reach and jeeps struggle on the potholed dirt tracks that have never seen a stroke of tarmac.

In the rainy season, it is not even worth trying to get through. The locals use the waterways to get around, travelling along the Pangalanes Canal in boats or in traditional pirogue canoes.

Along with the north of the island and the entire east coast, Nosy Varika is hit by cyclones nearly every year. They are a matter of course; only the names change every time: Grettelle, Indlala, Jaya or Dina.

In January 2007, the island was hit by Cyclone Clovis. The material damage was enormous: roads, bridges and houses were destroyed, fields were laid to waste and the annual harvest was destroyed. The people in the affected areas can face an immediate threat of famine in the storm's aftermath.

"They are forced to eat roots or whatever they can find to survive," said Madame Caroline from German Agro Action, the only aid agency in the region.

Helping people help themselves

In remote rural areas like Nosy Varika, inhabitants cannot rely on outside help to cope with the cyclones. They need to be able to protect themselves and have to deal with the after-effects. The list of preventative measures is a long one: catastrophe committees, better communications infrastructures, early-warning systems and storage facilities.

Didier Young, coordinator of the Madagascan catastrophe aid for Care International, said he supports the introduction of new rice varieties that ripen faster and can therefore be harvested up to two months before the cyclone season begins. As an added benefit, this would stop the annual flooding of the rice paddies during the rainy season, he said.

It is not the ideas or initiatives that are lacking, but finding a way to turn them into a reality. The international aid agencies first have to convince the Madagascans of their ideas, which has proven a difficult process.

Madagascans are a highly traditional people. Their culture revolves around ancestor worship - a practice based on the belief that deceased family members have the ability to influence the fortunes of the living. Because of this, many things are "fady," which means they are forbidden. For example, new rice varieties are ignored because these have not been handed down by Madagascan ancestors.

Deforestation with fatal consequences

Another obstacle in the way of change is the extreme poverty on the island. Three-quarters of the 18 million Madagascans live on less than a dollar a day, and don't have enough to eat. People who live in poverty generally have little incentive or time to worry about the environment.

The average annual income of a Madagascan is around 250 dollars. According to the UN, the island is one of the poorest and least developed in the world. Illegal lumbering and deforestation is a way for the islanders to survive; the wood is used for cooking and heating.

Acute deforestation is now visible all over the island. It increases the devastation caused by cyclones such as flooding, landslides and the aggradation of rice paddies. Without the forest's natural barriers, the sand and debris flows into the irrigation channels and blocks them, topsoil from the fields is swept away, leaving them useless for growing. When the wet season's heavy rainfall comes, there is nothing to stop the water from flooding the valleys.

Author: Barbara Gruber
Editor: Sabina Casagrande