Thirty-five members of the European Parliament are calling on the International Monetary Fund to renegotiate its funding to Madagascar that could support two highway projects expected to cut across the nation’s vital forests.
The IMF in June 2024 announced $321 million to Madagascar through its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). It aims to aid the country’s adaptation to climate change through initiatives like road infrastructure enhancement.
The MEPs, in a letter sent in December 2024, expressed concern about the under-development Antananarivo-Toamasina highway and the proposed “Route du Soleil” in Madagascar.
They urged the IMF to only transfer the funds “once there is a formal commitment that protected areas will not be affected by the road projects.”
In an email to Mongabay, an IMF spokesperson said that the RSF doesn’t finance specific projects, but rather provides “general budget support to member countries for climate policy reforms.” The spokesperson added their “mandate and expertise do not extend to assessing the design of a specific road project or its environmental impact”.
However, the MEPs in their letter called the IMF to introduce safeguards, prohibiting the funds to be used for projects that could threaten protected forests and biodiversity.
“This $321 million package, while intended to enhance climate resilience, risks enabling infrastructure projects — specifically two roadways — that threaten Madagascar’s last primary forests,” the letter said.
In an emailed statement to Mongabay, MEP Annalisa Corrado from Italy said that during the 2024 U.N. climate talks in Azerbaijan, activists told her about the Antananarivo-Toamasina highway. With the European Union’s antideforestation regulation taking effect in 2026, the MEPs then wanted to urge the IMF not to misuse its resilience fund.
Previously, 50 organizations had issued a statement in July 2024, saying that while the Antananarivo-Toamasina highway, connecting Madagascar’s two biggest cities, was commendable, the project threatens Anjozorobe Angavo New Protected Area and Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor Natural Resource Reserve. This could result in the loss of 1,490 hectares (3,682 acres) of forest, home to critically endangered lemurs like the indri (Indri indri), and crowned sifaka (Propithecus coronatus).
The proposed Route du Soleil could fragment Makira Natural Park, the MEPs’ letter said.
Ndranto Razakamanarina, president of the Voahary Gasy Alliance (AVG), a coalition of Malagasy NGOs, said they’re “delighted” with the MEPs’ letter reinforcing their appeal.
He added that after the Azerbaijan climate talks, Madagascar’s environment minister had promised the highway wouldn’t pass through protected areas, but there have been no new discussions.
Razakamanarina said local communities have complained the highway construction work by Egyptian company Samcrete is destroying rice fields, water sources and cultural sites.
AVG wants the government to temporarily stop the work and resume discussions with civil society, Razakamanarina said. The alliance also demands transparency of funding and a “strategic environmental and social assessment” of the projects, he added.
As of Feb. 4, the MEPs have yet to hear from the IMF.
Banner image of crowned sifaka by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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