Madagascar Research Paper

Economic and Social Developments of Madagascar
By: Chad Stephens
GEOG 2253
Dr. Youngs
October 5, 2010

Introduction Globalization is defined as the “increasing interconnectedness of people and places.” The general assumption by people who are unfamiliar with globalization and its processes is that when less developed countries, such as Madagascar, are affected by globalization, the country reaps from the benefits of the new ideas, policies, programs, and beliefs. Although many of the previously stated things have positively affected Madagascar, the economic and social developments that are seen in Madagascar today show that much still needs to be done to help the struggling country.
Body
To understand where Madagascar is headed as
a country, it’s important to first know what Madagascar has had to go through to get to where it is now. Madagascar is an African nation located off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. A major source of the problems that Madagascar is facing is due to the relatively short amount of time in which it has been an independent nation. Madagascar is a former French colony, gaining its independence from the French on June 26, 1960 (Neoliberalising). The way in which Madagascar can build a strong, efficient infrastructure is by learning from globalization.
Most of Sub-Saharan Africa is consider less developed countries as well, so the infrastructure and support that Madagascar receives is coming from Europe, Asia, or the United States (Neoliberalising). The relationship shared between the French and Madagascar continued long after Madagascar secured their independence until Marc Ravalomanana was elected President in 2002. Ravalomanana was quick to make changes as he made it clear that he was interested in turning towards the English-speaking world, especially the US and South Africa as a source of economic and political support. Furthermore, his election promises included a commitment to greater economic liberalization; this constitutes a
significant break with past presidents who had a closer relationship with France and followed more state-centric economic policies” (Neoliberalising). The effects of globalization on Madagascar become even clearer when you see what the country is doing to boost its economy. President Ravalomanana had presented many different alternatives and concepts that were considered foreign to Madagascar to help boost the poor nation’s economy. An original plan that would help put Madagascar on the map, as well as bring much need money into Madagascar was ecological tourism. Following such initiatives as the Caribbean, South Africa, and other countries, Madagascar wanted to attract tourists to the country to help boost its economy. Ecological tourism, or ecotourism, has been identified as a “critical sector” for Madagascar. Madagascar is home too numerous beautiful ecological destinations. The wildlife-based ecotourism includes the national parks, reserves, beaches, and marine-based tourism such as whale watching and scuba diving. The government hopes the industry provides enough economic stimuli to help strengthen many problems within the country (Neoliberalising). Clement Ravalisoana, President of the Professional Association of Tour Operators in Madagascar, has stated that his organization has gone across the world to international trade fairs to raise the awareness of Madagascar’s newfound ecotourism market. Ravalisonana intends to make Madagascar’s main targets Europe, particularly Germany, the UK, and France, and small portions of North America and Japan (Neoliberalising). The effects of globalization have practically created a new industry in which a whole country is beginning to thrive off. Starting in 1990, Madagascar’s visitor arrivals increased by over 200% by the year 2000. Madagascar had 53,000 visitors in 1990 and had reached 160,000 visitors by 2000. Furthermore, the World Tourism Organization has identified Madagascar as one of the world's top emerging destinations: in 2004 Madagascar experienced a 13.2% increase in visitor arrivals, compared with a world average of 3.9% and an average for Africa as a whole of 5.7% (Neoliberalising). Although ecotourism contributes a substantial amount of economic development to Madagascar, there is an industry that could quite possibly change the economic status of the country forever. The mining industry in Madagascar has the potential to become the backbone of the country’s economy. In the late 1990’s, minerals such as gold, nickel, bauxite, iron, chromite, titanium oxide, beryl, and quartz were all found in the island country (Gemstone). But, the biggest focus of the mining has been on the large deposits of gemstones. Sapphires and rubies can be found on the island, and are said to be of the highest quality in the world. The only problem regarding the mining of these gems is that large portions of these stones are being smuggled out of the country. Madagascar is estimated to have over $100 million worth of gemstones stolen from the country in the year 1999 alone (Gemstone). Madagascar is receiving international support from organizations that have argued that if “gem mining were properly regulated and carried out by international mining companies, the revenue could be used to invest in economic development for the benefit of Madagascar as a whole (Gemstone).” The globalizing affect of Madagascar’ natural resources are shown as many foreign, mainly Canadian, companies are coming to Madagascar to invest (Gemstone). If Madagascar could take control of the mining situation, and stop the smuggling of gemstones out of the country, the country could use the revenue from the mining to build an infrastructure for the country to survive on for years to come. Globalization has not stopped at just economic developments to aid Madagascar.
Regarding poverty, the country remains one of the poorest countries on the planet. As late as 1999, seventy-one percent of the total population of Madagascar was living under the national poverty line, and eighty-three percent of the country earned less than $2-per-day (Larson, Minten, & Razafindralambo 23). With such little money, the quality of life becomes less and less. Life expectancy rates and birth rates in Madagascar are some of the lowest in the world, and only twenty-six percent of kids finished primary school. People in Madagascar often did not have enough to eat, especially in the Ranomafana region. Whole families were to be support on the cultivation of crops in this region, but the rugged terrain made growing crops difficult (Korhonen). Fortunately, the globalization has made life easier for the villagers, due to the growing of tourism down the badly damaged national highway. The United Nations recognized the problems that Madagascar was going through, and created the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals were created to help initiate fundamental changes that countries required to survive (Larson, Minten, Razafindralambo 22). The globalization created by the United Nations has helped create a step stone in which Madagascar can assess their own problems, and work with the United Nations towards fix them. Much work is need to improve education, the poverty level, and even access to clean water, but developments are being made to reach these goals. Unfortunately, not all of the developments made through globalization have been beneficial to Madagascar and the people of Madagascar.
The Malagasy people are traditional prideful, cultured people. Unfortunately, globalization has lead to the break down of their past times and culture. Typically, the men are the breadwinners for the family. They take care of the family, take pride in their work, and provide food and shelter for the family. But, a new kind of youth, The Jaombilo, have ruined this way of Malagasy life. The Jaombilo are young men who are “pure consumers, who don’t work, and you are attractive and kept for sexual and domestic pleasure by women who earn their money either through prostitution or sometimes more long-term relationships with European men” (Cole). The Malagasy opinion of a man is in complete contrast with the Jaombilo. The Jaombilo do not provide for the family, they do not work, or do anything to be a positive member of society. While older people, especially men, utter the term Jaombilo in a condescending manner, the Jaombilo themselves have come to define the word as a combination of “strength and vitality with behavior unfettered by normal social restraints” (Cole). The actions of the Jaombilo can be traced back to European men who supported Malagasy women, but now the process has added another step of Malagasy women supporting a Malagasy man. This effect of globalization is without a doubt a negative development to Madagascar, but it is proof
that countries are becoming more interconnected than ever before. Conclusion Globalization has played a vital role in the recent history of economic and social developments in Madagascar. Through the increased industries of ecotourism and gemstone mining, and the help for the social problems regarding the impoverished, and the destroying of the Malagasy culture by the Jaombilo, Madagascar is being shaped by globalization. The trends of social and economic development should only continue. Madagascar is only a fifty year-old country with a plethora of natural resources and the geographic location to be a tourist-destination for the whole world. Once the country starts to see the money from the industries really start to flow in, the Malagasy people can build their infrastructure, and then slowly transform into a developed nation.

Reference List
Cole, Jennifer. “The Jaombilo of Tamatave (Madagascar) 1992-2004: Reflections on Youth and Globalization.” Journal of Social History: 891-914.

Duffy, Rosaleen. 2007. "Gemstone mining in Madagascar: transnational networks, criminalisation and global integration." Journal of Modern African Studies 45, no. 2: 185-206. Academic Search Premier.

Duffy, Rosaleen. “Neoliberalising Nature: Global Networks and Ecotourism Development in Madagasgar.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16: 327-344.

Korhonen, Kaisa, Ossi Rahkonen, and Elina Hemminki. “Implications of integrated nature conservation for human reproductive health: a case study from Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.” Development Southern Africa 21: 604-621.

Larson, Bruce, Bart Minton, and Ramy Razafindralambo. “Unravelling the Linkages between the Millennium Development Goals for Poverty, Education, Access to Water and Household Water Use in Developing Countries: Evidence from Madagascar.” Journal of Development Studies 42: 23-40.