Conservation
The threat faced by the park is generally from the poor farmers who reside on the boundary of the park. As the agricultural yield from their farm lands is very low, they resort to encroachment of the park land and carry out hunting of wildlife in the park for their sustenance. Destruction of forests by "slash-and-burn cultivation and hunting (in the centre, east and north)", fires, poaching, cutting of precious trees such as rosewood and ebony, and also gem mining to small extent are some of the common threats to the biodiversity of the park.
The park is managed by Madagascar National Parks. As one of WWF’s Global 200 priority eco-regions for conservation priority attention has been given by international agencies (such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and Conservation International, IUCN and NGOs) to carry out conservation activities in the park which involves prevention of encroachments and threat to wildlife. The progress in this respect is reported to be good.
The "Landscape Development Interventions Program" is in operation in the park. Under this programme, ensuring protection to the highland rainforest corridor that links the Zahamena Park and Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is one of the primary objectives. The other related activities initiated are the elimination of “rural poverty through agricultural intensification and sustainable management of natural resources”. This programme is spread over five areas of increasing agriculture yields, enhanced conservation measures, and community participation in natural resource management.
Read more about this topic: Zahamena National Park
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