In Madagascar — a global hotspot for both biodiversity and extinction — eight out of ten people live in the remote countryside, relying on the forest and land for food, water, shelter and culture. Traditional practices may be sustainable at the subsistence level, but the current rates of forest loss and hunting threaten 94% of lemurs and 63% of endemic plants with extinction, eroding key ecosystem services. Biodiversity loss drives a feedback system where millions of people face food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty. There must be a balance between biodiversity conservation and the livelihoods of local people who depend on the land.

Building on the work of a previous team, this project team worked closely with partners in Madagascar to understand the impact of deforestation on lemurs and their distribution, and to assess the effectiveness of a strategic conservation plan co-created by local stakeholders, the Bass Connections team and the Duke Lemur Center (DLC).

Learn more about this team’s work by reading their team profile.

Timing

Summer 2023 – Spring 2024

Team Outputs

A Multidimensional Conservation Action Plan in Northern Madagascar (Team profile; 2024 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Biocultural Sustainability in Madagascar (Poster presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 17, 2024)

Manuscript draft for publication

Relationships Between People, Plants, and Lemurs in the SAVA (Video)

DLC-SAVA Conservation Newsletter

This Team in the News

Meet the Winners of the 2024 Bass Connections Student Research Awards

Collaboration and Community Partnerships are Key to Conservation Efforts in Madagascar

The Evolution of an Evolutionary Biologist

See earlier related team, Biocultural Sustainability in Madagascar (2022-2023).

Image: Team members in Madagascar, Summer 2023; Image courtesy of the Biocultural Sustainability in Madagascar project team