The former president of Madagascar was hailed for his plan to increase the extent of protected areas on the island from 3% to 10%. Since this announcement in 2003, new areas that were added included extensive corridors within the rainforest area and some wetlands. The parks were seen as a national asset to be managed by the national government organisation, ANGAP (now referred to as SAPM, System of Protected Areas of Madagascar). In an effort to ensure that local communities benefitted from the parks, 50% of the visitor entrance fees collected by ANGAP were earmarked for development projects in local villages, and visitors to the parks had to hire a local guide. Some guides attended training courses in conservation in Reunion, sponsored by ANGAP.

Marojejy National Park was previously a scientific reserve and only opened to tourists in 1998. Thanks to the efforts of local people and volunteer conservation workers, an accountable park management staff was finally installed and by 2006 small groups of ecotourists were beginning to visit and a healthy industry was building up around this.

However, during the period March to May 2009, the Park was closed to visitors due to lawlessness in the region and the presence of armed gangs illegally removing rosewood trees from the forest. The closure had huge implications for the people in the area that had come to rely on tourism for their livelihoods.