Tôlanaro

Infobox City
official_name = Tôlanaro

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mapsize = 183px
map_caption = Map of Toliara Province showing the location of Tôlanaro (red).
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Madagascar
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Anosy

Tôlanaro is a city (commune urbaine) in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Anosy region, of the Tôlanaro district, and is in the former Toliara Province. It has a port of local importance, and currently a new port is being built in Ehoala. Formerly Fort Dauphin, it was the most durable French settlement in Madagascar.

Geography

The city is situated on a short narrow peninsula on the southeastern edge of Madagascar.

History

people, the survivors were evacuated in 1674.

One temporary settler of this colony, Etienne de Flacourt, published, back in France, the "History of the Great Isle of Madagascar and Relations", that was the main source of information on the island for Europeans until the late 19th century.

After World War II and until Didier Ratsiraka took the presidency in 1975, Fort Dauphin had a thriving community of Malagasy, French, Chinese and Indian merchants with adequate roads connecting the city to Tulear and Fianarantsoa. The port provided a means of exporting cattle to Mauritius and importing various goods from France and elsewhere. In 1975, the French businesses were nationalized, French citizen's assets frozen and the infrastructure was allowed to deteriorate. As of recently Fort Dauphin has still not recovered the vitality it had in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Fort Dauphin hosted an American missionary school operated by the American Lutheran Church (see Malagasy Lutheran Church).Fact|date=July 2008 American missionary families and other English-speaking families sent their children to this boarding school.

Modern era

date=3 August 2005|title=Madagascar titanium dioxide project|accessed=2007-10-05] . A new port (Ehoala) as well as new roads are being built, these being the first investment in the region's infrastructure for many decades.

The mine is controversial however due to the predicted social upheaval and adverse environmental impact it will have. In particular, health officials fear that HIV/Aids, which to date has been almost unknown in Madagascar, could spread to the island via Tôlanaro [cite news
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6916454.stm
publisher = BBC News
title = Madagascar's ticking HIV time bomb
date = July 27 2007] .

Ecology

Andohahela National Park is within driving distance of Tôlanaro, 40km to the North West.

References

External links

* [http://www.riotintomadagascar.com/ Madagascar mineral sands project official website]
* [http://archive.elca.org/archives/dgm/madagascar.html Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Global Mission Bibliography]