The latest communique from the TANY Collective (1) highlighted the hope of many Malagasy citizens that the new government will effectively implement the announcement made on 30 October 2025 by the Minister of Land Use Planning and Land Affairs, announcing the restitution of land to local communities, particularly those of the small ilands in northern Madagascar mentioned specifically (2). Admittedly, only a month has passed. But it is better to deal with problems as soon as they arise. Some cite the Tourist Land Reserve (TLR) and the World Bank as obstacles to this restitution. Let us explore this subject in greater depth.
The decision regarding Nosy Sakatia does not quite meet expectations.
Various discussions between the Nosy Sakatia community and government officials revealed that residents could purchase the land at a modest price and obtain land titles under the concerted state land operation (ODOC). However, the Ampasindava-Sakatia area, classified as a tourist land reserve (TLR), will not be affected. This area poses a major problem because
– it is ‘sacred land’ for all the inhabitants of the island;
– families own houses there, live there, raise livestock and cultivate the land, which already provides them with a growing income;
– numerous communities from other parts of the island have land there, inherited from their ancestors, and the soil is fertile and productive.
Has the decision been made to grant land titles to the inhabitants of the rest of Nosy Sakatia in order to silence the community and those who support it? Or will the TLR, which is the real problem, not be the subject of a decision worthy of a ‘rebuilding’? Who is the Ampasindava-Sakatia TLR intended for?
Many observers are questioning Green Mada Land.
The co-owners of Green Mada Land remain powerful in Nosy Be: no one has criticised them, no one has challenged them. It is important to remember that the results of an investigation broadcast on KOLO TV on 21 September 2025 (3) indicated that the former President of the Republic and the former Prime Minister, as well as their oligarch advisor, currently in trouble with the law in Mauritius, are among the main shareholders of Green Mada Land. This article gives us the opportunity to emphasise that this company has declared to the press that it is entirely Malagasy, but the documents relating to the project it plans to carry out in Ampasindava-Sakatia (4) reveal the presence of foreign companies that will be working closely with it. Furthermore, the long-term lease signed with the State clearly stipulates that the company will lease the land for 50 years and then purchase it. It is therefore urgent to remove the name of Green Mada Land from all documents relating to the Ampasindava-Sakatia TLR, in accordance with the ministerial decree published in the Official Journal in December 2019.
The rights of local populations over their land must not be undermined in order to please investors.
Some have claimed that the failure to return the Ampasindava area to the inhabitants of Sakatia was due to its status as a Tourist Land Reserve (TLR), as TLRs were created in collaboration with the World Bank, whose support is vital for the new government. The veracity of this claim remains uncertain, but we have undertaken to verify the facts.
It was already known that the PIC (Integrated Growth Pole), financially supported by the World Bank, or rather one of its instruments, is the structure that set up the Tourist Land Reserves, in collaboration with successive governments. This PIC is frequently mentioned in various documents concerning Nosy Sakatia, and one of its representatives attended a meeting in Nosy Be last August concerning Nosy Sakatia.
Many people were surprised and disappointed by the announcement made on 18 November 2025 by the Minister of Land Use Planning on Real TV, according to which the beaches (5) would be classified as Tourist Land Reserves. Is it a coincidence that this announcement, which went relatively unnoticed because it was relegated to the end of a long television news programme, came just five days after the meeting between the representative of the PIC and the Minister of Land Use Planning?
It should be noted that beaches are part of the ‘public domain of the State’ and are therefore allocated for use by the entire population. This includes the strip of land located within 25 metres of the high-tide line, known as the ‘coastal strip’, which replaced the 80-metre ‘geometric steps’ of the previous law in 2008 (6). It was not clear in the announcement whether the beaches would become Tourist Land Reserves (TLR) only in Sakatia or on all the islands.
Are the new leaders planning to build illegal infrastructure? Will many beaches be blocked by TLRs, depriving local residents of access to the sea and making it difficult to fish, which is a source of food and income for the local population? Furthermore, will TLR investors build infrastructure on sandy beaches or will all seafront land be allocated to them?
It is true that the new leaders government needs money. More than twenty tourist land reserves (TLR) were launched in 2008 (7) and Andry Rajoelina’s team was planning many more in June 2025 (8). However, we strongly suggest that among the innovations of the « REBUILDING » should be the decision to stand tall and dignified during negotiations to defend the land and national interests (5) and to abandon the servile attitude – kneeling or grovelling – that some Malagasy leaders have adopted towards investors and institutions such as international banks. We will return shortly to their plans concerning Madagascanlagasy land, which the TANY Collective had already shared previously (9).
Return the land located in the TLRs in Nosy Be and the surrounding area to its rightful owners.
Considering the Tourist Land Reserves (TLRs) known to exist in Nosy Be and its surroundings – Ampasindava-Sakatia, Amporaha, Ampasindava-Befotaka and Antsatrabevoa – they appear to be intended for foreign investors or very wealthy Malagasy companies. The inhabitants of these localities are protesting strongly against the infringements on their lives and rights, even though they have the means and are all eager to undertake sustainable and independent development projects, in accordance with what they believe to be right for themselves and future generations, and beneficial for the country as a whole. Some have already accomplished notable activities in this regard but are threatened with eviction; others have begun but their efforts have been suspended due to serious concerns, persistent for years, about the rights of local communities to use their land.
Consequently, we are joining forces with local communities to:
– request the cancellation of agreements concluded by former State leaders with various companies within the framework of the Tourist Land Reserves (TLR);
– and demand that an in-depth study of TLRs, for each specific case and in general, be part of the urgent actions taken by the authorities, in collaboration with the residents concerned, during this transition and rebuilding process. It is wrong to set priorities based on the assumption that Malagasy communities are incapable of designing and managing tourism projects.
Brief news about Nosy Mitsio
This discussion will continue shortly with information about the other small islands. However, we can already share that representatives of the inhabitants of Nosy Mitsio have stated on television that they met with the Minister of Land Use Planning and his colleagues in Antananarivo. They learned that a lease agreement for land on the island, signed in 2023, still had to be cancelled before the inhabitants could obtain title. We hope that the situation will be clarified quickly, that the new government will cancel this opaque ‘contract’ and that the inhabitants of Nosy Mitsio will finally be able to fulfil their wish to enjoy their beautiful island to the full and obtain land titles for their entire territory.
The Malagasy version of this press release was issued on 6 December 2025
and its English translation on 12 December 2025.
New information: On 8 December, during his visit to Nosy Be, the Minister of Land Use Planning and Land Affairs confirmed the forthcoming allocation of land titles to the inhabitants of Nosy Sakatia as part of the concerted state land operation (ODOC), except on the Ampasindava-Sakatia Tourist Land Reserve. He also stated that the lease (of the Green Mada Land company) would be cancelled and that the Tourist Land Reserve would remain State property.
Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY
patrimoine.malagasy@gmail.com ; https://terresmalgaches.info ; Facebook : TANYterresmalgaches ;
X ex-Twitter : @CollectifTany ; Instagram : collectif tany ; BlueSky : @collectiftany
References:
(1) https://terresmalgaches.info/collectif-tany-madagascar-land-defense-transition-refoundation/
(2) https://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/33120-madagascar-les-terres-spoliees-seront-restituees
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtiLD0LWP3E
(4) Nosy Sakatia, L’île aux orchidées – Projet d’écotourisme « bleu et vert »
(5) REAL NEWS / Ny # VAOVAO MARINA MIVANTANA 18 NOVAMBRA 2025
(6) Law # 2008-013 on the public domain of the State
(7) https://www.jacaranda.fr/en/tourisme-3-000-hectares-de-reserves