Business Trip to Madagascar–Output 4, Kyoto University, Prof. Kaoru Kitajima
Prof. Kaoru Kitajima of Kyoto University, a member of Output 4 of the SATREPS VaryAla Project, traveled to Madagascar in August to conduct preliminary field surveys and hold meetings with collaborating research institutions.
To promote understanding of the project, particularly Output 4, and to obtain cooperation from relevant institutions in Madagascar, meetings were held with several organizations in the capital city of Antananarivo.
In addition, site visits were carried out in and around Ankarafantsika National Park, the project's target study area, to identify locations suitable for implementing Output 4. Catchments with forested upper reaches, as well as those affected by fires and logging, were examined to identify potential streamflow monitoring sites. Access routes necessary for conducting vegetation surveys in the upper reaches were also assessed.
Paddy fields inside Ankarafantsika National Park, where rice cultivation is sustained even during the dry season by the water-recharge function of forests covering the sandy hills.
