By Mickah Raharisoa & Haja Nirina
An investigation with the NGO Fanoitra in Ambalanomby Morondava revealed that corruption has been prevalent since the creation of the salines. The founding president of the salt company Stedic, which was later bought by GSM, was an ally of the regime and used power to his own advantage. “They have always been the winners’ friends and in contact with the leaders in place at all levels .” Bruno Randriamahaleo, Executive Director of the NGO Fanoitra, said. This father pointed out that it was not only the destruction of protected mangroves that people complained about the salt producers, but the problem also extends to the violation of the workers’ rights, such as wage embezzlement and social unrest at the grassroots.
Forests and livelihoods are victimized
The deforestation perpetrated by the Ampataka salt factory is a threat to the inhabitants of Bosy. Facing this, there was a complaint from the Bosy Community Group but it failed, according to its president Pamphile Abraham. The local mangrove forest is called the “taboo forest”. “This GSM company is ruining us, an area of 1 kilometer long and about 500 meters wide is affected by these damages,” the VOI Bosy president testified. As a result, the habitat of crabs, which is our livelihood as fishermen, has been destroyed.
“The GSM company extends to less than 2 km to the East. This is more than the space allocated to it.” Romain Radson, Chief of the Bosy fokontany in the Morondava district, said. He repeatedly said that since October 2016, there have been suspicions of corruption among salt producers in the clearing of prohibited forests or mangroves. In fact, he was not consulted on several occasions regarding permits to build and expand salt marshes and dams by these companies. He believes that officials in the neighboring Ampataka Fokontany have received money from these companies. He is also concerned about the high level of corruption among civil servants at all levels. He is also concerned about the high levels of corruption among officials at all levels such as regarding land ownership and the environment. “We see the water and forest police doing their job of protecting the mangroves, but fearing for their lives because of the numerous officials, even the ones at a high place, who put pressure on them.” Romain Radson, the Bosy Fokontany Chief said.
It is said that long-line and net fishing are for the local population’s major livelihoods. They believe that they are threatened if the mangrove forests were to disappear. The sea workers underlined the values of these mangroves to them. “These taboo forests protect against climate change and coastal erosion, and they contribute to the development of the green economy and the blue economy.” Celestin, a fisherman from Ampataka, said.
On the basis of their experience and facts they observed, operators in both the river and maritime sectors emphasized the benefits provided by mangrove forests. “Mangroves protect fish from the sun as a refuge when the sea is withdrawing during the day. This protected forest also represents food for many of these fish.” Lakia Arthur, a boat pilot, said.
If the destruction of the mangrove forests continues, the fish will have no place to lay their eggs, and many people will lose their jobs and livelihoods, and the coastal area will crumble.
A former leader of the Youth Consortium Mahery in Morondava
A former leader of the Youth Consortium Mahery in Morondava said, “If the destruction of the mangrove forests continues, the fish will have no place to lay their eggs, and many people will lose their jobs and livelihoods, and the coastal area will crumble.” Sradjee, the current Head of the Menabe Regional Committee for Integrated Coastal Zone Management or CRGIZC (Comité Régionale pour la Gestion Integrée des Zones Côtières), stressed that the Afiafy (Scientific name: Avicennia marina- Editor’s note) and other mangrove forest trees that were used as medicinal products, guarantee the healing of many diseases.
Zero complaints
WWF said it has not received any complaints about Bosy’s mangrove problems. “We have regular meetings and reports from the grassroots, but none of the many participants have complained about this matter,” according to an exclusive interview with Tojo Rasolozaka, WWF’s Project Monitoring Officer in Morondava.
Kafote Retondro Chief of Ampataka village for 25 years, Commune of Marofandilia, Morondava, who also works in the salt company, insisted that they were not destroying the protected mangrove forests. “It is in the desert where there are no trees that we let sea evaporate into gas, and the salt is left. We also build canals leading to the salt marshes on land where no trees grow.” It should be noted that many salt companies are located not far from his residence and office. “GSM is not the only salt producer in our area but there are also Rôly, Mostaky, Rabri, Christian; there are many smaller companies as well.”, according to Kafote Retondro, Ampataka village chief. Because the village was later separated from Bosy, the Bosy community wants to keep the land as part of its territory, even if it takes more than an hour to get there by sea, and Bosy is farther from these lands than Ampataka.
Authority pressure
It is still in-depth investigations that have revealed that this overlapping area division is one of the root causes of conflicts between local communities, village chiefs, grassroots communities, and large or medium salt producers. Ampataka is closer to the salt marshes and is not cut off by the sea, but Bosy claims them because of their strategic economic location. These neighboring Fokontany officials accused each other. Those from Bosy said that some officials, such as the Ampataka village Chief, land ownership officials, environmental officials, and the water and forestry police, were suspected of receiving money from the salt companies. The persons mentioned, however, confirmed that there was no corruption, but that those from Bosy wanted total control of the land away from them where many businesses were located.
The Menabe region’s Governor, Serge Lucky Randriantsoa, confirmed in a private interview that the conflict was a source of disturbance. The Menabe region’s top official underlined that salt miners have a permit from the respective authorities and respect it : “It is said that salt water is stored in areas without mangroves. In the event that the irrigation ditches damages trees even one of them, it is stated in the cahier des charges that they are replaced by planting several seedlings”. He emphasized that he is trying to balance the potential damage of a single tree that can be replaced by others to be planted with the public interest in the companies’ investments and the benefits of the Morondava salt they provide to every Malagasy household.
Economic operators around the Bosy and Ampataka Fokontany emphasized that the benefits to Malagasy citizens are far greater than the trees that may be damaged but can be replaced. Salt mining companies try to plant a hundred times more trees than those that have to be removed because of sea water canalization. “The use of wood as for fire, graves, buildings, fences, even trade, destroys mangroves and land forests more than salt extraction, but it is jealousy that prevails.” Zephirine Gailo and Emile Faritako, operators in marine fishing and business tourism, said.
The money disappeared
Eric Sandros Andriamasy, president of the Mahery Menabe Youth Consortium, asserted that “Providing alternative employment for the population is one way to reduce the destruction of mangrove forests that are used for carbonization and salt extraction.” The consortium team declared that continuing to support their mangrove planting project is the efficient solution. They said they had been planting 50 hectares of mangrove forest per year since 2014, but then the funding stopped. NGOs, organizations and civil society say international budgets to help tree planters protect the environment and adapt to climate change are not reaching the grassroots.
It should be noted here that the first officials of the Menabe Region concerned with Land Ownership, the Environment and Sustainable Development, carried out missions in other regions. In the face of this polemic, we tried to approach the GSM salt producer, but we were blocked and prohibited from accessing the factory, even at about 200m from the entrance to the area.
