2014 survey counted 1797 mature individuals remaining, all located within the Belavanoka (1036 trees), Vatomirindry (726 trees), and Ebakika (35 trees) Rivers. Based on these estimates and IUCN guidelines, the Ravenea musicalis should be listed as "Vulnerable," though, as Hogg and Henshall warn, extant populations could decline rapidly over the next few years in response to the increasing local human population and climate change, returning R. musicalis status to Endangered or Critically Endangered. Much of their potential habitat occurs on ideal land for the cultivation of cassava (manioc), rice and sugar cane. Additionally, the local population of Anosy people is growing at an estimated 2.9% each year, and as their population grows, so too does their need for the rich riparian soils. Plantations occupy large swaths of the Belavenoka and Ebakika Rivers, encroaching on R. musicalis habitat. Furthermore, since R. musicalis requires sandy rather than silty riverbeds, land conversion for agriculture may be disrupting the establishment of young plants. Already, ongoing harvesting threatens the population, especially in the more populated Ebakika and Belavenoka River areas, where R. musicalis trees were observed to have been felled, presumably for edible palm cabbage. They are threatened by logging/wood harvesting, as their wood is harvested for temporary canoes in the wet season, and the core of the tree is harvested for edible palm-hearts in the lean season. The Ebakika population suffers most from over-harvesting, and it has the lowest population. Climate models predict that southern Madagascar will be seriously affected by a harsher dry season within the next century. The salinization process and drying-up of rivers that may result both from climate change and from agricultural practices pose a serious threat to the water-dwelling R. musicalis. References musicalis Taxa named by Henk Jaap Beentje