Home to 5% of all species on Earth — 90% of which exist nowhere else — Madagascar’s government
formally unveils its commitment to one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation plans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, April 17, Madagascar’s new Prime Minister Mamitiana Rajaonarison formally unveiled his government’s commitment to Madagascar’s landmark 30×30 Biodiversity Plan — one of the most ambitious nationally-led conservation commitments in Africa and a blueprint for how a nation can turn global biodiversity pledges into concrete action. The event, hosted at the official residence of Ambassador Her Excellency Lantosoa Rakotomalala in D.C. on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, brought together representatives from Campaign for Nature, Rainforest Trust, Conservation Allies, the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC), and other leading conservation organizations and funders.

The stakes could not be higher. Madagascar is home to approximately 5% of all species on Earth, with 90% of its wildlife found nowhere else on the planet. Its lemurs, chameleons, baobab trees, and thousands of endemic plants and animals represent an irrecoverable biological inheritance. “Any biodiversity lost in Madagascar would be lost to the world,” Prime Minister Rajaonarison told guests.

Madagascar’s 30×30 Biodiversity Plan — developed over 18 months through a participatory process involving the Malagasy government, national scientists, local communities, and international partners — targets 18 million hectares of terrestrial ecosystems and 40 million hectares of ocean under strengthened protection by 2030, delivering direct benefits to more than three million people. The new government has already begun delivering: in February 2026, Madagascar designated 21 new protected areas covering 1.82 million hectares, bringing the national total to nearly 9.4 million hectares. In late March, 45 scientists — the majority Malagasy — convened in Antananarivo for the country’s first full scientific re-prioritization of terrestrial biodiversity since 1995, producing a cartographic atlas to guide the plan’s implementation.

Critically, Madagascar is not relying on international philanthropy alone. The plan includes a comprehensive self-financing strategy: carbon credit programs, debt-for-nature swaps, a Lemur bond and other green bonds, and the development of Madagascar as a high-end ecotourism destination — currently generating $170 million annually — with a target of annually mobilizing $150–220 million for conservation financing by 2030. Key funders already committed include Rainforest Trust, the Hempel Foundation, and Conservation Allies, with long-standing bilateral support from KfW, AFD, and the World Bank channeled through FAPBM, Madagascar’s independent national conservation trust fund.

“Protecting nature is imperative for our own survival and should be viewed as an investment in our planet’s irreplaceable natural resources,” the Prime Minister told guests. “We have the opportunity to make history — let’s make history together.” With COP17 approaching in Armenia this fall and G7 meetings ahead in France, he called on developed nations to follow through on international financing commitments: “Madagascar serves as emphatic proof that ambitious conservation plans are ready for support and investment.”

“Madagascar is not waiting to be told that its natural heritage matters — they are doing the hard work to protect it,” said Domoina Rakotobe, Senior Program Officer at the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC).

“Rainforest Trust has been proud to support Madagascar’s 30×30 journey while they built and now execute on their national biodiversity plan. What makes Madagascar exceptional is not just the ambition of its commitment — it is the hard and continuous work the government has put in to deliver on it. Designating 21 new protected areas, convening national scientists, and bringing communities to the center of conservation are not easy things to do. Madagascar is doing all of this, and the world should take notice,” said James Deutsch, CEO of Rainforest Trust.

A Madagascar delegation will return to the United States in May, traveling to New York, Washington D.C., and California to present the plan to major foundations and philanthropists and invite them to become partners in three new priority conservation landscapes.

About Rainforest Trust

Since 1988, Rainforest Trust has been safeguarding imperiled tropical habitats and saving endangered species by establishing protected areas in partnership with Indigenous and local organizations and communities. With its partners, Rainforest Trust has safeguarded more than 66 million acres of vital habitat across Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. Rainforest Trust is a nonprofit organization that relies upon the generous support of the public to successfully implement its important conservation action. The organization is proud of earning a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.