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Also known as the ‘Traveler’s Palm’, this plant is often used as the emblem of Madagascar.
From the eastern side of the Ambatovy-Analamay ridge the hills start. At an average altitude of 800 meters, in Andasibe, the terrain
gradually decreases towards the east, with the steep slope of the Betsimisaraka Massif and the spectacular waterfalls of the Vohitra
River. The river system combines multiple rifted and alternating splits, giving the impression of total chaos. In this region forest cover,
even in the steepest places, were maintained thanks to the efforts of conservation agencies.
The landscape of Ankay was significantly transformed by a vast pine plantation
(pinus patula)
.
The district of Brickaville
After crossing the steep slope of Beforona, the landscape becomes a succession of low hills covered with ravenala
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(Ravenala
madagascariensis)
or bamboo. Except for a few residual forests in the uppermost positions, this is the region of herbaceous hills.
In some places, there is a concentration of raffia or bamboo. In the hilly areas the valleys are deep and narrow. Rivers and streams
expand in the downstream sector of their courses, as is the case of Vohitra, Anivorano and Rianila, Brickaville. Their flow does not
become regular until the Pangalanes Canal. By the time the rivers reach the Indian Ocean they are so slow that they cannot even
break the smallest dune.
The district of Toamasina
This eastern most part of Ambatovy’s intervention areas is the richest in water. Large bodies of water and large rivers are bordered by
large leaves of colocasia, also known as ‘Elephant Ears’. Water is everywhere, any excess rain causes flooding. To protect the people
from this, houses are built on pillars. This Betsimisaraka region is the area of cash crops: coffee, cloves, pepper, as well as several
varieties of fruit. Unfortunately, some of these activities are in decline, except for the annual collection of lychees, the latest collection
of which benefited from the access roads built by Ambatovy.
