Team profile by members of the Biocultural Sustainability in Madagascar project team

This team is a collaboration with Centre Universitaire Régional de la SAVA, the Duke Lemur Center (DLC), and local forest management associations. Our applied research focuses on conservation efforts in the COMATSA Protected Area within the SAVA region in northern Madagascar.

The team’s overall goal is to create a multidimensional conservation action plan that can be implemented by stakeholders to preserve forests and benefit local livelihoods, safeguarding their rights to land and resources. Our team formed prior to traveling to Madagascar in both 2022 and 2023.

Over the summer, the Duke Lemur Center’s DLC-SAVA Conservation project led the fieldwork for Duke students in Madagascar. The team was comprised of graduate and undergraduate students and a postdoctoral associate from Duke, along with students from the University of California-Davis and Macalester College.

Blending ecological studies of lemurs in the rainforest with social science research on community livelihoods, the team was able to collaborate with over 30 local partners. Once back on campus in the fall, the team convened in weekly meetings to ensure project progress, as well as weekly subteam meetings.

Within the Ecology subteam, our primary goals centered around understanding the impact of deforestation on lemurs and their distribution. We combined remote-sensing data with lemur population size estimates. By integrating multiple predictor variables, including forest cover loss, we were able to produce preliminary predictions of lemur densities across the study area for nine species. We drafted a manuscript, including the background literature review to write the introduction section, to document our methods and analytical workflow.

Concomitantly, the Social Science subteam undertook qualitative research methods to assess the effectiveness of the conservation action plan. One Duke team member, Dania Nasir, conducted key informant interviews and focus groups with community members who participated in agricultural workshops as part of the livelihood development program.

Dania completed her master’s project in the Nicholas School of the Environment, finding that the workshops were well received by communities, they benefitted from the new skills they learned, and they wish to continue with sustained contact from the DLC team.

During the academic year, two students designed a program evaluation instrument for the environmental education program within the conservation action plan. Teachers, parents and students participated in the Duke Lemur Center’s education program. Through these subprojects on program evaluation, we are learning what aspects of the action plan have been successful and how to improve the plan moving forward.

Overall, the aim of this project is to implement the conservation action plan with the communities in Madagascar. Our efforts to date have set the baseline for future investigations and implementation of diverse and socially sustainable conservation.

Explore our project further in this video and through the DLC-SAVA Conservation Newsletter!

Biocultural Sustainability in Madagascar

Poster by Anne Yoder, Camille DeSisto, Candidier Dimbiarijaonina, Charlie Welch, Chone Chaowai, Dania Nasir, Dedriek Whitaker, Edgar Rabevao, Edouard Mahazandry, Emerancine Raharizafinirina, Esperio Jaozandry, Feno Telessy, George Raveloson, Helen Morris, Jean Eric Tsilanizara, Jean Ranohianasy, James Herrera, Jean Tiamanana, Jeantauné Njakandrina, Mamy Omega, Maya Reilly, Melissa Merritt, Nanditha Ram Satagopan, Nandrasana Judolin Raherison, Nantenaina Eliantine, Nestorine, Prisca Joel, Raherisoa Angele, Romeo Bezaralahy, Tristan Frappier-Brinton and Zico Zandry