Madagascar meeting urges Africa environment safeguards

ANTANANARIVO, June 24 (Reuters) Conservationists today called for urgent action to protect Africa's fragile environment on Saturday, saying it was crucial to many people's survival.

Endorsed by 350 scientists, policy makers and environmentalists, the ''Madagascar Declaration'' said Africa's natural wealth had so far failed to improve the lives of most people on the world's poorest continent.

''Ecosystem services that function as the foundation for human welfare -- clear air, fresh water, food and fiber, and natural medicines -- are being jeopardised,'' the statement said.

''Reversing this trend is imperative for human well-being, and for many people, for their very survival,'' it said.

The five-day conference heard a host of frightening environmental scenarios from top experts.

Deforestation rates in Africa are probably occurring faster than previously thought, exacerbating ills including loss of fertile soil through erosion and loss of habitat for rare creatures which could attract ecotourists to poor countries.

The conference also heard biodiversity on the continent was being lost at an unprecedented rate.

Experts said bottom trawling fishing had decimated populations of marine predators such as tuna off the east coast of Africa, with unknown consequences for coastal ecosystems.

On a brighter note, an expedition off the coast of Madagascar found healthy corals which had survived die-offs associated with climate change elsewhere in the Indian Ocean and the west African nation of Equatorial Guinea announced new protected areas covering over 500,000 hectares.

''Action points'' highlighted by the conference include: - Immediate protection for coastal forests, wetlands, mangroves, estuaries and reefs.

- Policy incentives for local communities to manage their own resources.

- Finding safe, easy and affordable fuel alternatives to wood and charcoal to stop many forests being cut down.

- Setting up ''environmental national accounts'' which monitor and calculate the value of ecosystems to a country's economy.

While the declaration is merely a guideline for policy makers and businesses, it has the authority of some of the world's leading conservation scientists and field biologists.

REUTERS SHB RK2008