By Rui Han, PhD student
Department of Environment and Geography, University of York
October 2023

We are excited to share that on the 28^th of September 2023, Future Landscape Optimisation for peri-Urban Resilience and Ecosystem Health in Africa (FLOURISH) launched the Madagascar programme, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Antananarivo.

FLOURISH is a five-year research programme aims to evaluate the effectiveness of urban green infrastructure innovations in formal and informal settlements across three Sub-Saharan African landscapes: Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Namibia.

The launch event gathered thirty experts, including researchers, policymakers, municipal representatives, donors, professors, and civil society members specialising in urban agriculture, water and sanitation, geography, community development, and environmental management.  Participants collaborated to co-produce knowledge supporting green infrastructure efforts to reduce urban heat and addressing green space inequities.

FLOURISH 2023 workshop launch in Antananarivo, Madagascar

The event opened with welcome remarks from Prof. Bruno Ramamonjisoa, Director of the Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Antananarivo, followed by an introduction on FLOURISH by Principal Investigator and ARISE Fellow Dr Jessica Thorn, University of Namibia and Imperial College London.  Rui Han, PhD student at the University of York, presented a map of Antananarivo’s green infrastructure and associated surface temperature variation. Patrick Laby, PhD student and research assistant at the University of Antananarivo, shared field observations, detailing three cases that applied participatory scenario analysis in Antananarivo. Dr Sarobidy Rakotonarivo, ARISE fellow at the University of Antananarivo, discussed an experimental approach aimed at optimising policy to scale up climate-smart agriculture and improve forest community livelihoods in Madagascar.

Subsequent roundtable discussions were cantered on Antananarivo’s unique context, addressing: (1) key approaches across scales from local to national level, (2) relevant policy processes under review, including land use and urban planning, (3) assess barriers and trade-offs to improve operational readiness and organisational agility, and (4) gaps in adaptation initiatives and information.

These discussions, lensing on three Antananarivo’ communes: Bemasoandro in the urban commune, Amonhitrimajaka in the north, Ambohimanambola in the east, sought to classify challenges and opportunities for facilitating urban agriculture and recreational greenspaces in transient and heterogeneous urban environments from urban to peri-urban system.

Snap shot of some of the future transition challenges in our study context

The Antananarivo Plateau presents a broad, low-relief surface at an elevation of about 1,310 meters above sea level. Within the city, particularly in urban communes like Bemasoandro, the primary drivers of land change are population growth and unsustainable urbanisation. This population surge has led to an increased demand for housing and markets, resulting in significant encroachment on semi-natural landscapes. Consequently, this has fostered the growth of unplanned, improvised housing, further exacerbating the existing issue of approximately 70% of the city being composed of informal settlements without access to green infrastructure, aggravating the urban heat island effect and pollution.

Urban communes in Antananarivo develop across several low rocky hill domes and ridges that dot the alluvial plain of the Ikopa River. To the north and west, the vast alluvial plain forms a basin of rice fields, with approximately half of the city’s total area dedicated to urban agriculture, as seen in areas like Amonhitrimajaka commune.

Participants identified two key categories of land change drivers for the north communes: the farming revolution and infrastructure modernidation, alongside population growth and agricultural intervention. Participants perceived that the occupation of agricultural land and green spaces, along with infrastructure developments like the construction of dams and modernization projects, are impacting food production and the cost of living. Simultaneously, as the population grew, brick industries flourished and occupied rice field in Amonhitrimajaka, where outdated infrastructure further exacerbated land conflicts and climate issues of drought and flooding. These issues were made worse by the extraction of sand and the destruction of water bodies and wetlands along the Ikopa river.

Brick-making activities occupied the agricultural land along the Ikopa river near Amonhitrimajak commune in the northwest of Antananarivo (Photo credit: Rui Han, 2023)

To the east of the urban commune, the Amonhimanabola area is raised in elevation, with increased forest and savanna coverage. Participants noted that infrastructure construction and growing awareness of sustainability play significant roles in shaping land cover in the eastern communes. For example, Amonhimanabola experienced low-density development and impervious surface expansion, which participants identified as a critical factor in reducing forest degradation, allowing the region to maintain a good proportion of forested land. Participants emphasized the region’s efforts to diversify its agricultural practices including crop fields and vegetable-fruit farms, which have contributed to improved local food security and environmental sustainability. In contrast to other regions, droughts and flooding are relatively rare, although concerns were raised about the burning of grassland and landfill pollution, as well as pollution from certain factories, such as paper-making facilities.

Moving forward, the workshop aligned technical expertise with local insights to achieve sustainable urban transformation. As the FLOURISH project progresses, the collaboration across sectors and scales will be vital to ensure lasting impact. Through partnerships, Antananarivo has the potential to emerge as a model of resilience and equity, demonstrating how green infrastructure can address pressing urban challenges while creating opportunities for future sustainable growth.