La spontanéité…
= conviction
(c’est encore prouvé aujourd’hui par rapport à la dégradation de nos forêts naturelles) que seule une bonne gestion de l’exploitation des ressources naturelles en satisfaisant les besoins des riverains….la biodiversité sera détruite d’une manière archaïque par le feu,le tavy, qui réduit à 100% la forêt climatique avec les fameuses faunes et flores endémiques. Mais cela nécessite une combinaison d’un État de droit juste avec des accompagnements techniques adéquats par des professionnels et non des appuis ponctuels de saupoudrage.
La forêt naturelle de l’est fini en Tavy de culture de manioc par manque d’appui d’un État Providence absent et centralisateur d’une minorité avec d’autres priorités
Zao aloha fa tsy maintsy madeha kely
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– Toky Ravoavy — Social Development Expert, Environmental Jurist & Community Governance Specialist
If there is someone who understands the true complexity of protecting Madagascar’s forests, it is Toky Ravoavy. For more than twenty-five years, he has worked at the intersection of law, land rights, community governance, and environmental safeguards — building systems that allow VOI/COBA structures to function, empowering communities to claim their rights, and ensuring that development projects respect both people and ecosystems. His dedication is quiet, unwavering, and deeply grounded in field realities. Toky is one of those rare experts whose humility equals his expertise, and whose work has silently shaped the protection of thousands of hectares of forests across the island.
Toky Andriamora Ravoavy is a leading Malagasy expert in social development, land governance, and community-based natural resource management. With more than 25 years of field experience across Madagascar, he has built a career at the intersection of social safeguards, environmental governance, community rights, and responsible infrastructure development. His work spans protected areas, forest corridors, extractive zones, urban districts, and coastal regions—always with the same commitment: ensuring that communities are empowered, protected, and meaningfully included in decisions affecting their land and resources.
Trained as a jurist and as a specialist in Nature Protection (Lycée Agricole Edgar Faure, France), he is completing a Master’s in Public Law and has developed rare expertise in social safeguards for major development partners, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, INSUCO, TotalEnergies, Ravinala Airports, CRS, SAHA, and multiple international NGOs. His work has involved the design and implementation of Resettlement Action Plans (PAR), livelihood restoration programs, local governance reforms, community participation mechanisms, and the reinforcement of VOI/COBA forest management structures.
Toky has worked on flagship national projects—urban development (PRODUIR), hydropower (Sahofika 200 MW), transport infrastructure (RN9, RNT12a), fisheries governance (SWIOFish2), mining sector reforms, airport redevelopment (Ivato & Nosy Be), and forest conservation initiatives with WWF, Durrell, and Madagascar National Parks. He is also co-author of key national reference documents, including the Guide pour l’engagement de la société civile dans les industries extractives (2016) and several capitalizations on land tenure reform (MATOY), local taxation, waste management, and community forestry (GELOSE/GCF).
Recognized for his ability to navigate between communities, technical teams, and institutions, Toky’s work places human dignity and transparency at the center of environmental and territorial governance. Few practitioners in Madagascar possess such a broad, grounded perspective on how social justice, land rights, and environmental protection converge—and must converge—for the country’s future.
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In Madagascar, the protection of forests relies above all on local communities. a VOI is group of residents who choose to take responsibility for a forest that surrounds their village
At the heart of this system are the VOI — Vondron’Olona Ifotony — grassroots associations legally empowered to manage natural resources on behalf of the State. Formed by villagers living around a forest, a VOI carries out surveillance and reports illegal activities. VOI also organizes awareness campaigns, and ensures sustainable use of resources. Although they operate without financial compensation, VOI members work within a defined legal framework.
Two national mechanisms regulate this community-based governance. The first is GELOSE, established by the 1996 law on local secured management, which transfers the responsibility for renewable natural resources from the State to communities through a tripartite contract with the municipality. The second is the GCF system, introduced in 2001 as a forest-specific contractual mechanism.
GELOSE is broad and applies to water, fauna, forests, and more, while GCF focuses exclusively on forest protection and is generally faster to implement. Under both systems, the VOI becomes responsible for applying the Management Plan – Plan d’Aménagement et de Gestion. It consists in zoning the forest, defining areas for conservation or use, enforcing cutting quotas, preventing fires, restoring degraded zones, and maintaining regular communication with forestry authorities.
Despite this, fewer than 20–25% of VOI benefit from regular assistance, and even fewer enjoy sustained, multi-year funding. Madagascar counts more than 1,300 VOI operating under GELOSE or GCF agreements, yet studies show that fewer than 20–25% receive regular technical or financial support from state agencies or partners.
A number of institutions and organizations provide technical or financial support to Malagasy VOI, although coverage remains uneven and often temporary. The Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable (MEDD) supervises GELOSE and GCF agreements, while Direction Générale des Forêts (DGF) and Directions Régionales de l’Environnement (DREDD) offer legal and administrative oversight when staffing allows. International partners play a central role: GIZ (Programme d’Appui à la Gestion de l’Environnement), USAID (programmes Mikajy, Hay Tao), WWF, WCS, and Conservation International support selected VOI through ecological monitoring, fire management, and equipment. The Fondation pour les Aires Protégées et la Biodiversité de Madagascar (FAPBM) finances VOI within protected areas via long-term endowments. Blue Ventures, Fanamby, Asity Madagascar, and MBG (Missouri Botanical Garden) assist communities managing forests, mangroves, or biodiversity hotspots. Private sector initiatives remain limited but exist: Helvetas, Sahanala, Bois Raméal Fragmenté (BRF) agricultural programs, and several eco-tourism operators provide sporadic financial or logistical support where forests are tied to local value chains.
Madagascar loses more than 100 000 hectares of forest every year, a hemorrhage with irreversible ecological and economic consequences. Yet the VOI, who collectively safeguard millions of hectares, receive almost no structural funding to carry out surveillance, fire prevention, restoration, or community management. At the scale of a nation, an annual investment of 10 million USD—less than the cost of losing even a fraction of these forests—would be enough to sustain a functional, professionalized, and equitable community forest management system. It is a modest price for protecting one of the world’s most irreplaceable ecosystems.
In practice, the gendarmerie or forestry administration are alerted by VOI members when trafficking networks attempt to exploit the forest. They are often the only structured presence standing between the forest and illegal loggers, charcoal producers, land grabbers, or bushfires. Millions of hectares of Malagasy forests are theoretically under community management. Consequently VOI are the first line of defense in regions where State presence is minimal.
They always face significant risks when they are obstructing powerful trafficking circuits. Most times some VOI leaders endure threats and intimidation. Some times it ends in violence and killings.
ARBRES À PALABRES for #dendrophiles edition for @Antson’ny tontolo miaina #antsonytontolomiaina
Key Texts & References for GELOSE
Official text of Loi n° 96-025 relative à la gestion locale des ressources naturelles renouvelables — the original law establishing GELOSE. FAOLEX+1
https://www.assemblee-nationale.mg/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Loi-n%C2%B0-96-025-relative-%C3%A0-la-gestion-locale-des-ressources-naturelles-renouvelables.pdf
Summary of the law as listed on FAOLEX (a global environmental/legal database) for legal reference. FAOLEX
https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mad16686.pdf
Scholarly article “La loi 96-025 et le transfert de gestion des Ressources Naturelles à Madagascar” (on OpenEdition) — overview of the law’s history, its aims and its implementation context in Madagascar. OpenEdition Journals+1
https://journals.openedition.org/com/6476
Report “Community-based forest management in Madagascar” (World Bank, 2015) — evaluates GELOSE/GCF implementation and challenges in forest management and tenure security. World Bank+1
https://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/596191468179340869/pdf/101134-WP-P124655-PUBLIC-Box393259B.pdf
Article “Community-based natural resource management as a good-governance and anti-corruption method: lessons from Madagascar” (U4/ForestPolicy analysis, 2023) — contextualises GELOSE within governance, corruption, and resource-management debates. U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre+1
https://www.u4.no/publications/community-based-natural-resource-management-as-a-good-governance-and-anti-corruption-method-lessons-from-madagascar.pdf
Overview article “Community-based natural resource management is a community affair” on the official site of World Bank, explaining how local protection committees (akin to VOI) function under GELOSE/GCF frameworks. World Bank
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/05/01/in-madagascar-natural-resource-management-is-a-community-affair
Andrea Razafi, « Vondron’Olona Ifotony (VOI) : vivre en harmonie avec la flore et la faune [archive] », sur www.studiosifaka.org (consulté le 16 juillet 2025)
Rivonala Razafison Les défenseurs de la nature de plus en plus en danger à Madagascar
Chapitre 1 – The Guardians #antsonytontolomiaina
Chapter 2 — Trees: histories, symbols, ecological values #antsonytontolomiaina