Crossing the Corridor by Drasine

On Kristen's first day of work in Fianar we stowed away on the drasine for a first glimpse of the shrinking forest corridor of old-growth forest. A probable first question might be what is a drasine? A drasine is a sort of train car, comprised of a single engine and some very stark bench seating. I imagine this kind of machine might be used to dispatch engineers and mechanics to broken down engines in need of fixing. However, on this day the drasine only dispatched the head of USAID-Madagascar and a small entourage of other AID employees along a portion of the Fianarantsoa – Côte Est (FCE) train line, which runs east and south from Fianarantsoa to Manakara on the coast. The route, some 160 kilometers in length, carries both freight and passengers, and because of the remoteness of this area, plays a vital role in linking small forest communities to the outside world. The train starts at an elevation of 1100 meters in Fianarantsoa and descends off the plateau towards sea level and the Indian Ocean. At one point the rail grade becomes the third steepest of any non-cog railway in the world. And, with the exception of about 30 kilometers of welded rails, the FCE is the one of the bumpier rides I've been on. The no-frills design of the drasine heightened this fact, and every nine meters the small car, and its passengers, jolted across the non-welded rail seams.

One real treasure of taking the FCE is how it transects so many different ecosystems, including a narrow corridor of old-growth forest. Seeing this corridor and getting a lay of the land was the reason we were invited to stow away on the drasine. For those who work in the People and Environment area of development in Madagascar, it seems as though the corridor, and its contents, occupies much of their thoughts. How large is it? (I've seen estimates for 2000 that put the forest area to be over 350,000 hectares.) How much has been lost? (The Fianar region of the corridor alone lost over 12 percent of its forest in the decade from 1990 to 2000.) What is happening to the wildlife in the corridor? (Scientists don't know for sure, but a Malagasy biologist in the Fianar area is currently studying the effects of forest fragmentation and its effect on genetic diversity in the local lemur population.) How are human communities faring in the face of changing forest resources? (This, too, is not entirely known, but there is a lot of interest with conservation and development groups to work with and support local communities as a means to ensure and enhance biodiversity and reduce deforestation.)

We left the station in Fianar mid morning and slowly chugged through the city limits and out into the countryside. The abundance of ramshackle housing impressed me, as did the proximity with which people erected their market stalls to the rail line. People alongside the tracks waved to us, especially children, and the conductor made liberal use of the whistle to clear the tracks of pedestrians. Soon we made it out into the countryside and buildings gave way to rice paddies and fields of cassava and beans. Not too far outside Fianar, we passed Madagascar's only tea plantation, Sahambavy; the light green tea leaves stood out against the darker green of the surrounding fields. A little farther ahead, the tracks and paved road parted ways and the drasine began its approach to the corridor.

The transition into the corridor was dramatic. Beyond a certain point I noticed the occurrences of rice fields and of eucalyptus and pine trees (both are introduced species) fell off sharply and was replaced by a dense mat of exotic (i.e., not introduced, but new to me) trees, vines, and other flowering plants. Banana trees planted by local farmers were part of the tree mix and many bore big bunches of green bananas.

The FCE boasts 67 bridges and 48 tunnels and we traversed and passed through our fair share during our tour. At the mouth of one tunnel we noticed a spider had built its web across the entire opening. A collective "AWWWH" came from the group as the drasine tore through the web. Like in the Gary Larson cartoon, I was impressed with the spider's ambition. Part of the fun riding the drasine was the freedom to stop at will and take in the sights and marvel at the "wilderness." And, almost always when we stopped somewhere the illusion of isolation would be broken. Out of nowhere farmers would materialize, give you a passing look, go around the bend, and be gone. We also experienced this phenomenon in Niger last fall with turbaned Touaregs, and I guess it shows that you now have to work pretty hard to escape the reach of human contact. Comforting or upsetting, it's a fact. We ate lunch at Mandriampotsy waterfall, which also offered spectacular views of the corridor. However, the effects of deforestation were also apparent from the same vantage point. Looking north and west back across the corridor, we saw hillsides cleared of trees and could imagine the fringes of the corridor being slowly chipped away. It surprised me to learn that the FCE actually helps fight deforestation.

Threatening the forest is Madagascar's rapidly growing population and an unsustainable agricultural system (essentially slash and burn). To grow enough rice to meet a household's needs, farmers in the corridor clear hillsides to plant upland rice. The soil on these sites is not well-suited for rice production and soon yields on these marginal fields decline. When this occurs, cassava gets planted next. This buys a few more years of food production before the native fertility becomes completely exhausted and the site is essentially sterile. At this point, that field is abandoned and a new patch of forest is cleared, and the cycle repeats.

Without the FCE, this cycle would accelerate more quickly. The presence of the rail line allows farmers in the corridor to focus on more sustainable agricultural practices, which basically involves relying on tree crops like bananas, coffee, avocados, and lychees. Farmers can use the train to transport fruits to outside markets like Fianar and buy rice, their preferred cereal, with the proceeds. The FCE won't stop slash and burn agriculture completely, but it does offer the hope of slowing it.

The USAID party disembarked from the drasine in Tolongoina and continued with their program by car. Bananas from across the region are collected in Tolongoina before being shipped to Fianar on the FCE. We went into one warehouse that was packed to the gills in bananas. They have 18 different species of bananas just in this region. We said goodbye to the group and rode the drasine back up to Fianar with Karen and even managed to cat nap during the bumpy ride.