Today in the Mission Yearbook - Fighting climate crisis in Madagascar

Church works to alleviate hunger and loss of biodiversity

April 23, 2020

Children hold fruit trees for planting at their FJKM school in Madagascar. (Photo by Dan Turk)

The Fiangonan’i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara (FJKM), the PC(USA)’s partner denomination in Madagascar, believes strongly in spreading the gospel and helping people improve their lives. The FJKM also believes that Christians have a responsibility to help preserve Creation. Church leaders often quote Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (NIV). Helping people improve their lives while helping to preserve Madagascar’s unique biodiversity is especially challenging given the extent of hunger and poverty in Madagascar and the environmental degradation threatening many species with extinction. The climate crisis is intensifying these challenges.

According to the World Bank, “Madagascar is among the poorest countries in the world with 75% of the population living on less than $1.90 per day.” The majority of people are subsistence farmers who produce most of their own food, with hopefully enough extra to sell to purchase necessities such as clothes and medicines, and to pay school fees. Chronic malnutrition is so prevalent that nearly 55% of children under 5 years of age are stunted.

Hundreds of Madagascar’s plants and animals are threatened with extinction. For example, six of the world’s 25 most endangered primates are lemurs from Madagascar (according to the report “Primates in Peril 2016–18”). A distinguished group of scientists recently declared that the world is facing the “last chance for Madagascar’s biodiversity.” The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation concluded in 2019 that “without urgent action, it will soon be too late to save some of Madagascar’s most iconic habitats and species.”

Deforestation is the major driver of biodiversity loss. Selective removal of endangered species, such as rosewood trees for making high-priced furniture and the angonoka tortoise for the international pet trade, also plays a role. Deforestation is often done to obtain agricultural fields, to get firewood and to make charcoal for cooking meals in urban areas. Cutting trees to build houses and to make boards for construction also contributes to deforestation.

Madagascar’s population, currently estimated at about 27 million, is expected to grow to more than 55 million by 2050. Population growth alone will put extreme pressure on agricultural production and remaining natural forests.

In 2019, Time magazine, using analysis from Verisk Maplecroft, declared Madagascar to be one of the “10 countries most vulnerable to climate change.” Extreme weather events exacerbate hunger.

Recommendations for alleviating hunger, loss of biodiversity and the effects of the climate crisis are similar and interrelated. Common recommendations for Madagascar include diversifying crops, increasing funding for national parks, planting fast-growing trees, reducing corruption, enforcing environmental laws and improving educational opportunities.

The FJKM, the largest Protestant church in Madagascar, is fighting hunger and loss of biodiversity in many ways. It has integrated training in growing fruits, vegetables and fast-growing trees into the program of study for student pastors. This helps the new pastors feed their families and provide technical assistance for others in their communities to help reduce hunger and promote resilience in the face of climate change. As part of their training, seminary students do field trips to natural forests where they see lemurs in the wild and learn about the threats that jeopardize their continued survival.

The FJKM’s Fruits, Vegetables and Environmental Education (FVEE) program provides native trees for planting at FJKM schools and churches to help people learn about the value of Madagascar’s amazing trees. The FVEE has set up a fruit center in northwestern Madagascar to harness the potential of mangos and other fruit trees to reduce poverty and hunger. Mangos grow well on soils of low fertility in areas that have a long dry season. With assistance from the Presbyterian Hunger Program, over 100 low-income farmers have recently been trained to plant, grow and graft mango trees. By growing selected mango varieties and grafting their own trees, these farmers will have opportunities to greatly improve their lives.

In Madagascar, the challenges of hunger and loss of biodiversity are made worse by the climate crisis; nevertheless, the FJKM, in partnership with the PC(USA), is helping to make a difference.

Dan Turk, Mission Co-Worker serving in partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Lucy Bryant, Presbyterian Foundation
Sue Budd, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Dear Creator, help us make every day one of celebration of and protection for your Creation. For all the wonders of Creation, we give thanks. Help us remember members of Creation, human and non-human, who are threatened. Give us strength to stand up for the most vulnerable, who are most affected by environmental degradation. Give us courage to advocate for just and sustainable policies, even in the midst of arguments and uncertainties. Keep us ever mindful that humans’ first call was to till and keep the garden. Amen.