Antananarivo — Has a chance to lead the world in conservation, and species protection, and we must not waste It. Over 150,000 of the island’s species exist nowhere else, including its famous lemurs. Its forests hold species still to be described for science. If Madagascar succeeds in protecting nature, the world keeps a living library of evolution, culture and possibility.
If it fails, we lose ecological treasures forever. If the effort to preserve a living library of evolution fails, we lose ecological treasures forever. For years, those of us who care about Madagascar have known two things: 1) the country is almost unimaginably rich in biodiversity, and 2) conservation efforts have been beset by delay and instability. That is why this moment matters. Madagascar has a real opportunity to reclaim its role as a global conservation leader.
We should not downplay that. We should recognize it, support it and move quickly. In the early 2000s, Madagascar seemed poised to show the world that conservation could protect natural heritage while improving the lives of people who depend on it. The government made an ambitious commitment to safeguard 10 percent of its land and territorial waters. Protect natural heritage while improving lives.
There were challenges, of course.
Conservation is never simple, especially in a country where rural communities under economic hardship rely on forests as their main source of fuel, food, land and income. But there was momentum, and there was a sense among conservationists that Madagascar could lead.
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Then came political crisis. In 2009, the government was swept from power, and conservation entered a long and damaging period of uncertainty. Illegal rosewood harvesting surged. Deforestation climbed.
Projects stalled. The trust and continuity between government and communities required for lasting protection were shaken. Madagascar’s parks and protected areas were caught in that instability. Local communities, conservation organizations and committed individuals in government continued to work, often with extraordinary persistence, but national progress was harder than it should have been. Finally, a new administration made a clear commitment to 30×30, the global goal to protect 30 percent of land and sea by 2030, and this pledge has endured a transition to the current administration. In its first months, the administration moved quickly to unlock long-stalled protected area designations, including 21 new temporary protected areas covering over three million acres. In March 2026, 50 scientists, most of them Malagasy, from seven specialized fields completed the first full reprioritization of the country’s conservation map since 1995, identifying roughly 44 million acres of priority land.
This effor is rooted in Madagascar’s own institutions, science and communities. Long-delayed designations are now moving because this effort is rooted in Madagascar’s own institutions, science and communities — strong enough to carry forward no matter who governs. For a country of such global biological importance, this is not a bureaucratic footnote.
It is a turning point. Protected areas only endure when they are more than lines on a map. They need legal recognition, long-term financing, effective management and above all local support. They need to create tangible benefits for communities: secure rights, sustainable livelihoods, better fisheries, climate resilience, employment, education and pride. Protection endures when communities are recognized as both stewards and beneficiaries.
Madagascar has a plan. It has political will. It has local conservation leaders who have continued the work through years of difficulty. It has communities already proving that protection and prosperity can move together. Madagascar needs partnerships at the scale of this opportunity. What Madagascar needs now is partnership at the scale of this opportunity. That means funding the full life cycle of conservation: designation, management, enforcement, restoration, monitoring and community livelihoods.
It means investing in Malagasy institutions and local organizations, not just international intermediaries. It means moving quickly enough to overcome the pace of forest loss, but carefully enough to ensure that protection is durable, equitable and trusted.
Madagascar once inspired the world with its conservation ambition. Then it endured years in which that promise was delayed and, in many places, undermined. Now the country has a chance to lead again by building a 30×30 strategy grounded in science, community prosperity and national leadership. There are moments when political will, community leadership and scientific urgency align. When they do, the conservation community has to be ready. This is one of those moments. We should meet Madagascar’s leadership with investment.
We should meet it with trust. And we should meet it now. Because if Madagascar succeeds, it will prove that even after years of setbacks, a country can choose a different future. Liva Raharijaona is 30×30 Coordinator at Madagascar’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. James Deutsch is CEO of Rainforest Trust
