Basic HTML Version
P A G E 8
S A V A
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1
History and Language Contest Winners Earn Educational Trip to
Marojejy National Park
By Mickael Achard, Director of Alliance Française in Sambava
The Alliance Française of Sambava recently hosted its annual “Questions for a Cham-
pion” contest. Since 1995, this Malagasy association has organized the festive event to
foster dialogue between schools and encour-
age the study of the French history and lan-
guage. The 2012 contest was specially organ-
ized for junior high students in their 7th and
8th year of school. In December, the semifi-
nal brought together eight middle schools
represented by teams of three students. For
the final, four middle schools faced off in the
first round of these duels, earning the win-
ners a trip to discover Marojejy National Park
during an educational eco-tour organized and
financed by Duke Lemur Center’s SAVA Con-
servation Project.
Three contest winners and 10 young volun-
teers from the Alliance Française raised their
awareness of environmental issues over three
days in Marojejy Park. Located 60km from
Sambava and listed as a UNESCO World Heri-
tage Site, Marojejy is home to 11 species of
lemurs, 125 species of birds and even 300 species of ferns. Better still, its primeval rainfor-
ests contain many species of plants and animals that exist nowhere else.
Madagascar is recognized as one of the most critical
biodiversity hotspots in the world. At least 90% of the
more than 12,000 species of plants found here are en-
demic. More than 700 animal species are found here
as well. 100% endemism exists for the lemurs and 98%
endemism considering all mammals, reptiles and frogs.
Protected areas in the northeast of Madagascar face a
variety of threats such as slash-and-burn agriculture
(“tavy”), bushmeat hunting, illegal logging of precious
hardwoods (rosewood, ebony and palissandre), fuel-
wood extraction and artisanal mining of semi-precious
stones.
Our 13 young ecologists were surprised to find one
of the rarest mammal species in the world: the silky
sifaka. There are less than a few thousand of these
large white lemurs left. They are critically endangered
and live in groups of two to nine individuals on territo-
ries stretching between 45 to 60 hectares. Protecting
them is essential if we want them to survive. Con-
vinced by these findings, the volunteers decided to take
action and will in turn educate their peers on these environmental topics. The Alliance
Française of Sambava will devote a special issue of its newsletter to these topics.
DLC-SC supports Alliance Française visit to Marojejy NP
Photo by Mickael Achard
Alliance Française students studying in Marojejy NP
Photo by Mickael Achard