Country Profile
Formerly an independent kingdom,
Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but
regained its independence in 1960.  Madagascar
is home to 5 percent of the world's plant and
animal species, 80 percent of which are found
nowhere else on Earth.
It has tremendous biodiversity
and high rates of endemic species: of more than
200,000 known species found on Madagascar, about
150,000 exist nowhere else.
Unique to the island are some
70 kinds of lemurs, 223 out of 226 known species
of frogs, and 33 species of tenrecs, miniature
hedgehog-like animals.
However, it is one of the most
threatened ecosystems on the planet. More than
80 percent of the forests are gone—half
of them since the late 1950s—along with
a number of large, charismatic species.
Capital City:
Antananarivo
Geographic coordinates:
11° 57' and 25° 30' South and longitudes
43° 14' and 50° 27' East,
Area:
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the
world with a surface area of 594,000 km sq. The
geomorgraphy of Madagascar consists of a raised
central plateau, which covers two thirds of the
island and ranges in altitutude from 800 m to
2,600m.
Madagascar's has resulted in a unique mix of
plants and animals, many found nowhere else in
the world; some ecologists refer to Madagascar
as the "eighth continent".Of the 10,000
plants native to Madagascar, 90% are found nowhere
else in the world. Madagascar's varied fauna and
flora are endangered by human activity, as a third
of its native vegetation has disappeared since
the 1970s, and only 18% remains intact.It has
several national parks.
The eastern, or windward side of the island is
home to tropical rainforests, while the western
and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow
of the central highlands, are home to tropical
dry forests, thorn forests, and deserts and xeric
shrublands.
Population:
19,448,815 (July 2007 est.)
Coastline:
5,100 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous Zone: 24 NM, Territorial Sea: 12
NM, Exclusive Economic Zone: 200 NM, Continental
Shelf: 200 NM or 100 NM from the 2,500-m deep
isobath
Marine Parks:
The Nosy Atafana Marine Park located in the
Biosphere reserve of Mananara-Nord and the Masoala
Marine Park which consists of a complex of 3 separate
marine protected areas.
Climate:
Tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid
in south
Elevation Points:
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m, Highest point:
Maromokotro 2,876 m
Source
- CIA World Factbook: Madagascar,
- IRIN news and analysis: A project of the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs
- Mongabay.com
Status Report
Draft National Status Report
for Madagascar.
French
For more, please contact Ms.
Chantal, the Focal Point for Madagascar
National Focal Points
The focal point for Madagascar
is:
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Ms.
Chantal Andrianarivo
Point Focal de la Convention de Nairobi
Chef de Cellule Recherche et Biodiversité,
Association Nationale pour la Gestion des
Aires Protégées (ANGAP), BP
1424 Antananarivo 101
Tel: (261) 20 22415 38/54,41883
Fax: (261) 20 22415 39
Email: val@angap.mg, chant_andri@yahoo.fr
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The focal points institutions
have been supported to operationalise their offices
and to initiate a reporting mechanism for the
Convention by compiling national status reports
on the coastal and marine environment.
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