Analavelona Sacred Forest (Agnalavelo / Alandraza Analavelo)
Analavelona Massif, Sakaraha District, Atsimo-Andrefana, southwestern Madagascar
- Location
- Analavelona Massif, Sakaraha District, Atsimo-Andrefana, southwestern Madagascar
- Coordinates
- ~22.67°S 44.18°E (peak Mitsinjoriake 1,325 m)
- Elevation
- ~700–1,325 m (montane massif)
- Size
- Montane forest enclave on the massif (Protected Area site #92)
- Age / Founded
- Ancient (Bara ancestral)
- Status
- Active (community-managed; Natural Monument 2015)
- Deity & Religion
- Ancestral spirits (kokolampo); Bara traditional religion (fady taboos)
- Community & Guardians
- Bara people
- Vernacular name
- Ala fady (taboo forest)
- Record type
- Single grove
Cultural practices & uses
Domain of ancestral spirits; community source of fuelwood, construction & coffin timber, medicine, honey, pasture & water; fady taboos govern access/harvest
Plant species
Dense humid evergreen forest (Uapaca, Dalbergia) on lower slopes; sclerophyllous montane forest on plateau/upper slopes; mountain-endemic species
Biome & fauna
Sky-island subhumid forest amid dry SW Madagascar; endemic Analavelona giant pill-millipede; lemurs
Threats & protection
Classified Forest & Natural Monument (2015); community management with Missouri Botanical Garden / Mohamed bin Zayed Fund (Sakoambanditse project)
Source
Analavelona (Wikipedia); 'Value of useful goods & ecosystem services from Agnalavelo sacred forest' (2016); protectedareas.mg #92