Makira Natural Park
| Makira Protected Area | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN category II (national park) | |
  Location of Makira Forest Protected Area | |
| Location | North-east Madagascar |
| Nearest city | Maroantsetra, Antalaha, Mandritsara |
| Area | 3,850 km² |
| Established | 2012 |
| Visitors | 0 (in 2006) |
| Governing body | Madagascar Forestry Department (DGEF) in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society |
In 2001, the Madagascar Ministry of Environment and Forests, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society, launched a program to create the 372,470 ha Makira Forest Protected Area. Operating under protected area status since 2005, the Makira Forest Protected Area REDD+ Project (Makira Project) has helped safeguard one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of low and mid-altitude rainforest in eastern Madagascar. [1]
Calculating the Economic Value of Rainforest Preservation: Botanical Ethnomedicines Researchers at Harvard University Center for the Environment, Madagascar Health and Environmental Research, University of California and Maroantsetra District Public Hospital calculated the economic value of botanical ethnomedicines in the Makira Protected Area and estimated mean benefits of ethnomedicines per year at approximately US$5.40–7.90 per person, $30.20–44.30 per household, and between $756,050 and $1,110,220 for all residents. Regarding potential value of the Makira rainforest area through the lens of commercial pharmaceutical development, based on a calculation of 1 to 18 potentially novel drugs derived from ethnomedicines used in the area, and using current average sales value of novel FDA-approved pharmaceuticals, the author estimated that the protected area “could hold between $316 million to almost $6 billion of untapped revenue within its botanical diversity.” [2]