Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park

Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park was established in 1997 and covers 363 km² of dry forest, marshes, and savannas. It is located on the southwest of Madagascar about 90km west of Isalo NP and 20km northeast of Sakaraha. The Park is divided into three different sections: Zombitse (168 km²), Vohibasia (161 km²) and Vohimena Isoky (32 km²). This National Park can personify the biggest environmental problem of Madagascar: deforestation. Hundreds of year of slash-and-burn agriculture and tree falling have turned the landscape into an arid and almost lifeless plateau. The local Bara and Mahafaly populations are zebu holders who need more and more space to feed their herds and grow rice and corn. Only a patch of protected forest remains nowadays in the middle of this devastation, giving shelter to an abundant fauna and flora biodiversity.
These isolated forests constitute the most important remnant of dry deciduous forest of Madagascar. Zombitse-Vohibasia acts as a transition zone between the dry and the humid forests of Madagascar. Therefore the flora is especially rich within the protected area. Baobabs and several orchids are particulary common.