Sava is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in northern

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Its capital is

Sambava Sambava is a city and commune (commune urbaine; ) at the east coast of northern Madagascar. It is the capital of Sambava District and Sava Region. The population of the commune was 84,039 in as of the 2018 commune census. Infrastructure Sambav ...

. Until 2009 Sava belonged to Antsiranana Province. The region is situated at the northern part of the east coast of Madagascar. It is bordered by the region Diana to the north,

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

to the west, and Analanjirofo to the south. As of 2018, its population was 1,123,013 and the total area is . The region contains wild areas such as

Marojejy National Park Marojejy National Park () is a national park in the Sava region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers and is centered on the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of . Access to the area around the massif was restricted t ...

. The name of the region is composed of the initial letters of its four principal towns:

Antalaha Antalaha is an urban municipality in northern Madagascar. It belongs to the Districts of Madagascar, district of Antalaha District, Antalaha, which is a part of Sava Region. The population of Antalaha was 67.888 in 2018. Farming provides employm ...

, Iharana (Vohimaro), and Andapa. Each of these towns claims itself the World Capital of

Vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

, a spice of which the region is the largest producer of in the world (especially the highly sought Bourbon vanilla variety). The economic importance of vanilla cultivation in the Sava Region encouraged the reconstruction of the road that connects the towns, called the ''Route de la vanille'' (The Vanilla Route), in the latter half of 2005. However, due to the volatile fluctuations in the price of vanilla, in turn often caused by the dramatic cyclones occurring in the southwestern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, many poor vanilla farmers in the Sava Region have periodically been forced to resort to the mostly illegal logging of ebony, palisander, and rosewood.

Geography

Administrative divisions

Sava Region is divided into four districts, which are subdivided into 75 communes: *

Andapa District Andapa District is a district in northern Madagascar. It is a part of Sava Region and borders the districts of Ambilobe and Sambava to the north, Antalaha Antalaha is an urban municipality in northern Madagascar. It belongs to the Districts ...

- 17 communes *

Antalaha District Antalaha District is a Districts of Madagascar, district in northeastern Madagascar. The district contains the Masoala Peninsula, and is limited by Antongil Bay in south-west and the Indian Ocean on east. It is a part of Sava Region and borders ...

- 14 communes * Sambava District - 25 communes *

Vohemar District Vohemar District (also Vohimarina District) is a Districts of Madagascar, district in northern Madagascar. It is a part of Sava Region and borders the districts of Sambava District, Sambava to the south, Ambilobe District, Ambilobe to the west a ...

(Iharana District) - 19 communes

Ports

There are regional ports in Vohemar and Antalaha.

Protected areas

* Loky Manambato New Protected Area (near Daraina) * Makirovana Tsihomanaomby New Protected Area *

*Part of

Masoala National Park Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and ...

Anjanaharibe-Sud Reserve Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve is a wildlife reserve in the north-east of Madagascar. The reserve was designated in 1958 and contains some of the last intact primary rainforest, along with several, rare and endemic animals and plants. The area w ...

* Part of Makira Natural Park *Part of COMATSA Avaratra New Protected Area *Part of COMATSA Atsimo New Protected Area * Macolline Park (private)

Rivers

The main rivers of the Sava Region are (north to south): * Loky River (on the border to

Diana Region Diana is a region in Madagascar at the northern part of the island. It borders the regions of Sava to the southeast and Sofia to the southwest. It covers an area of 19,266 km2, and had a population of 889,736 in 2018. The regional capital is ...

) * Manambato River * Manambaty River * Fanambana River * Bemarivo River * Androranga River * Lokoho River * Onive River * Ankavanana

Transport

Airports

* Andapa Airport * Antalaha Airport *

Doany Airport Doany is a rural municipality in northern Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Andapa, which is a part of Sava Region. According to 2001 census, the population of Doany is 19,928. Doany is served by a local airport. Primary and junior leve ...

* Sambava Airport * Iharana Airport

Roads

This region is crossed by 454 km of national roads:VULNERABILITE SECTORIELLE DE LA REGION SAVA
/ref> * National road 5a from North to South ( Daraina, Vohemar,

) * National road 3b from Sambava to Andapa (97km) * National road 53 from Antalaha to the Antsirabato Airport (12 km) * National road 59a - from RN 5a to Vohemar (3km) furthermore by 520 km provincial roads (RIP) and 230 km of roads without a classification.

References

EDBM

External links

Sava Region
– official site {{Authority control Regions of Madagascar