Arbor Day's Powerful Impact in Madagascar

All photos curtesy of Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership

Many think of Arbor Day as just a U.S. holiday, but it has become even more wide-reaching. The Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, a domestic national NGO, plans to celebrate Arbor Day in an extraordinary way this year by planting its 4 millionth tree on April 30.

The Arbor Day Foundation began its ongoing partnership with the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP) in 2015 — supporting all the fantastic reforestation work they are accomplishing in Madagascar. The MBP was first started in 1998 by Dr. Edward E. Louis Jr., the Conservation Genetics Department director at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska.

The work was initially more research-based, but it refocused in 2009 to include reforestation and community building. When speaking to Dr. Louis, he described the extensive time spent researching different lemur species that would ultimately go extinct unless they started to invest in the forests that housed the lemurs and the communities near them. So the MBP began working with the community. With the support from select environmental groups, including the Arbor Day Foundation, they started an ambitious reforestation project that led them towards the goal of 4 million trees by Arbor Day 2021.       

Tree planting and reforestation have become such an integral part of the community where the work is being done. The Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership has done an excellent job of integrating reforestation and sustainable living for the Malagasy people who reside there.

4 Million Trees

Investing in the Community as Tree Planters

The MBP has poured a lot of research and resources into making this reforestation project a joint effort with the Malagasy people who live there. The Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium and the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership initiated a Conservation Credit Rewards (CCR) program in 2012 to encourage local involvement in the ongoing reforestation in the area. This program provides credits to local Malagasy people and families who participate in tree planting events, and these credits can be used to purchase a variety of items that can help improve their standard of living. The CCR program helps to solidify the collaborative nature that reforestation has taken on in Madagascar.

With all the years of integration, the end result is a community that is very dedicated to preserving and planting trees. The people who live there get involved with celebrating days like International Women’s Day, Earth Day, and of course Arbor Day. They celebrate Arbor Day with a tree planting parade and plant at least 20,000 trees each year. The MBP celebrated Earth Day and Save the Frog Day one week before the week of Arbor Day, which will put them close to the 3,999,999 trees planted mark anticipating the Friday, April 30 Arbor Day celebration.

Arbor Day can mean so many different things to many different people, but at its core, it’s a holiday that celebrates the future of the planet and the choice to invest in it. We’re proud to know that this year, it means 4 million trees for Madagascar.