Clovis Razafimalala is a human rights defender and environmental activist from Madagascar. He is best known for his advocacy against the

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

in Madagascar. Razafimalala, described by

Mongabay Mongabay (mongabay.com) is an American conservation news web portal that reports on environmental science, energy, and green design, and features extensive information on tropical rainforests, including pictures and deforestation statistics f ...

as possibly Madagascar's best known activist. He won the

German Africa Prize The German Africa Prize or German Africa Award () has been awarded annually since 1993 by the German Africa Foundation () to promote peace, democracy, social market economy and human rights. In addition to these primary goals, the German Africa ...

in 2018.

Biography

Razafimalala has campaigned against the use of

rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

in Madagascar since 2009. In April, following the

2009 Malagasy political crisis The 2009 Malagasy political crisis began on 26 January 2009 with the political opposition movement led by Antananarivo mayor Andry Rajoelina, which sought to oust President Marc Ravalomanana from the presidency. The crisis reached its climax in ...

, with five friends he started the

Maroantsetra Maroantsetra , formerly Louisbourg, is a market town and domestic seaport in Analanjirofo Region, Madagascar, at the northern end of the Bay of Antongil. In 2018, Maroantsetra counted 42,529 people. Even though it is a small city, Maroantsetra ...

-based radio program ''Radio 2000'', at which they discussed the illegal

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

and rosewood logging. Within one month, someone burned his house down. In the mid 2010's he founded the Lampogno MaMaBaie organisation, focussed on protecting the

Masoala ''Masoala'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It contains the following species, both endemic to Madagascar:Jumelle, Henri Lucien. 1933. Annales du Musée Colonial de Marseille, sér. 5, 1(1): 8. * ''Masoala kona'' Beentje ...

and

Makira The island of Makira (previously known as San Cristóbal) is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in Solomon Islands. It is third most populous of the Solomon Islands after Malaita and Guadalcanal, with a population of 55,126 as of 2020 ...

national parks from illegal resource extraction. Razafimalala also serves as the regional coordinator of the National Environmental Advocacy Coalition. In 2016, Clovis was accused of orchestrating a riot after a fellow timber advocate was arrested. Despite not being present during the violent protest, he was imprisoned for these crimes. After a wave of support and a surprise trial, Clovis was eventually released. In 2017, he was charged with arson, fined and sentenced to five years of imprisonment, although immediately released on parole.

References

{{Portal bar, Biography, Environment, Madagascar Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Malagasy environmentalists Malagasy human rights activists

Biography

See also

References