Ученые из NIU помогли сохранить тропический лес Мадагаскара после получения статуса охраняемой территории

DeKALB – A husband-wife team of NIU scientists, Mitchell Irwin and Karen Samonds, helped save a Madagascar rainforest this summer after the Malagasy government granted protected area status to the Tsinjoarivo-Ambalaomby area the pair have worked in for 26 years. According to a World Bank Group assessment, Madagascar’s poverty rate stood at 80 percent in 2024 with a slight projected decrease to a 79.5% poverty rate in 2025. With an increase in rural populations and lack of alternatives, rainforests in the island have been burned to create space for farmlands. Anthropology Professor Irwin said his time visiting Madagascar was eye-opening. “As a naturalist, as someone who likes the outdoors, coming from a more wealthy country and visiting one of the poorest countries around can be really eye-opening,” Irwin said. “Just little by little, bits were being cut down. Bits are being burned.” Since 2000, the pair have been conducting research, environmental conservation and coordinating NIU study abroad trips to the island. Madagascar is home to many species, especially lemurs. “You’re also seeing this amazing wildlife that you appreciate because you’re from far away and you’ve never seen it before. And for them, it’s kind of in the background, and so you’re seeing this dynamic where to survive, they’re destroying something unique and beautiful,” Irwin said. Samonds, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, said she realized Madagascar was a special place during her first visit. “I was on that original expedition in 2000, which was really exciting,” Samonds said. “It was just supposed to be a quick trip to do an assessment. And when we got there, we realized what a special place it was.” In 2008, Irwin and Samonds led the creation of Sadabe, a non-governmental organization. In their website, the organization says it helps local people in Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar, who have hosted and facilitated their research. Samonds also said that building the relationship with the people in the island helps find sustainable ways to save the area. “There’s not going to be a sustainable way to save these areas without considering what people need and so going to these places, meeting people, learning the language and really caring about them. Having this long-term relationship with them for all this time has been a really rich part of the whole experience,” Samonds said. Irwin said he had a lot of feelings when he received the news of the Tsinjoarivo-Ambalaomby area being granted protection status. “This may be my big one. I had a lot of feelings when I got the news. This may be the big one for my working life of 40 years till I retire,” Irwin said. Samonds said the area may have been logged and farmed without the status. “Without sustained efforts and without the presence of returning every year for so long, I feel like that area would have basically not much left. It would have probably been logged and farmed,” Samonds said. Samonds also added that the team was able to build a field station in the area as well as host students from NIU. Samonds said they aim to visit the area every year.