Charlie J. Gardner

Protected areas for conservation and poverty alleviation: experiences from Madagascar

Protected areas for conservation and poverty alleviation: experiences from Madagascar Charlie J. Gardner*, Martin E. Nicoll, Tsibara Mbohoahy, Kirsten L. L. Oleson, Anitry N. Ratsifandrihamanana, Joelisoa Ratsirarson, Lily-Arison Ren e de Roland, Malika Virah-Sawmy, Bienvenue Zafindrasilivonona and Zoe G. Davies WWF Madagascar and Western Indian Ocean Programme Office, BP738, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK; D epartement de Biologie, Facult e des Sciences, Universit e de Toliara, Toliara 601, BP 185, Toliara, Madagascar; Blue Ventures Conservation, Level 2 Annex, Omnibus Business Centre, 39-41 North Road, N7 9DP London, UK; ESSA-D epartement Eaux et Forets, Universit e d’Antananarivo, BP 175 Antananarivo, Madagascar; and The Peregrine Fund, BP 4113 Antananarivo, Madagascar

IUCN management categories fail to represent new, multiple-use protected areas in Madagascar

The IUCN protected area management category system provides an internationally-recognized, unifying framework for the description and classification of the worlds diverse protected areas. It includes six main categories, of which category V has attracted debate because of its emphasis on the role of harmonious people-nature interactions in maintaining biodiversity within cultural landscapes. Madagascars new generation of protected areas comprises sites mainly proposed as category V, with the joint management objectives of biodiversity conservation and the promotion of natural resource use for rural development. Here, I use a categori- zation decision tool to investigate the categorization of 10 new protected areas proposed as category V, and find that these sites fail to meet the criteria for any management category. I argue that category V is inappropriate for these new protected areas because their associated people-nature interactions are largely negative for biodiversity. I further argue that management of these new protected areas differs fundamentally from management of category V protected areas in Europe, and recommend the modification of the management category system to account for such

The lemur diversity of the Fiherenana - Manombo Complex, southwest Madagascar

We conducted the first comprehensive lemur survey of the Fiherenana - Manombo Complex (Atsimo-Andrefana Region), site of PK32-Ranobe, a new protected area within the Madagascar Protected Area System. Our cross-seasonal surveys of three sites revealed the presence of eight lemur species representing seven genera and four families, of which three are diurnal and five are nocturnal species. Six species were only recorded in the riparian and transitional forests of the Fiherenana and Manombo river valleys, while the spiny thicket at Ranobe contains only Microcebus (two species), all larger species having been extirpated by hunting in recent years. Two of our records ( Mirza coquereli and Cheirogaleus sp.) represent new locality records or range extensions, but we failed to record one species ( Phaner pallescens ) expected to occur in the area, and question the literature supporting its presence south of the Manombo river. Our findings highlight the importance of the Fiherenana-Manombo Complex for the conservation of lemurs in southwest Madagascar, but also show that PK32 - Ranobe fails to protect the full lemur diversity of the Complex. The protected area does not include the riparian forests of the Manombo and Fiherenana rivers, and at least three lemur species are therefore unprotected. We strongly support the proposed extension of the protected area to include these riparian forests as well as other important habitats for locally endemic bird and reptile taxa. RESUME La zone du Complexe Fiherenana - Manombo (Region d’Atsimo- Andrefana), site de PK32-Ranobe, une nouvelle aire protegee dans le Systeme des Aires Protegees de Madagascar (SAPM), a fait l’objet d’un premier inventaire de lemuriens. Nos prospections dans trois sites a differentes saisons ont revele la presence de huit especes de lemuriens representes dans sept genres et trois familles, dont trois sont des especes diurnes et cinq sont des especes nocturnes. Nous n’avons pas pu identifier l’espece du genre Lepilemur ni celle du genre Cheirogaleus a defaut de disposer de specimens. Six especes ne se trouvaient que dans les forets riveraines et les forets de transition des vallees des fleuves Fiherenana et Manombo. Le fourre epineux de Ranobe n’abrite que des Microcebus (deux especes), toutes les especes plus grandes ayant deja ete exterminees par la chasse au cours des dernieres annees. Nos estimations de densite indiquent que la population des Microcebus est deux fois plus importante dans le fourre epineux que dans la foret riveraine (1,078 individus / km² vs. 546 individus / km²). Nous avons estime la densite d’Eulemur rufus a 40 groupes / km² dans la vallee du Fiherenana, mais nos transects ne nous ont pas permis d’obtenir des estimations fiables pour les densites de Lemur catta et de Propithecus verreauxi. Deux des especes repertoriees ( Mirza coquereli et Cheirogaleus sp.) representent de nouvelles observations pour la zone ou des extensions de leurs aires de repartition connues, mais nous n’avons pas pu trouver l’espece Phaner pallescens qui devait etre presente dans la zone et nous emettons des doutes portant sur les references publiees rapportant la presence de l’espece au sud du fleuve Manombo. Nos resultats mettent en exergue l’importance du Complexe Fiherenana - Manombo pour la conservation des lemuriens dans le sud-ouest de Madagascar, mais ils indiquent que l’aire protegee de PK32 - Ranobe ne protege pas la diversite complete des lemuriens du Complexe. Les forets riveraines des fleuves Fiherenana et Manombo ne sont pas incluses dans l’aire protegee de sorte qu’au moins trois especes de lemuriens ne beneficient alors d’aucune protection. Compte tenu des objectifs du SAPM et plus particulierement de l’Objectif 1, a savoir ‘Conserver l’ensemble de la biodiversite unique de Madagascar’, nous estimons que la nouvelle aire protegee du PK32-Ranobe n’atteint pas ces objectifs et nous appuyons les efforts des promoteurs afin de re-delimiter l’aire protegee pour inclure les forets riveraines ainsi que d’autres habitats importants pour la conservation des oiseaux et des reptiles localement endemiques.

Changing livelihoods and protected area management: a case study of charcoal production in south-west Madagascar

Protected areas are usually conceived and managed as static entities, although this approach is increasingly viewed as unrealistic given climate change and ecosystem dynamics. The ways in which people use land and/or natural resources within and around protected areas can also shift and evolve temporally but this remains an under-acknowledged challenge for protected area managers. Here we investigate the factors driving a rapid rise in charcoal production within a new, multiple-use protected area in Madagascar, to inform appropriate management responses. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 208 charcoal producers to ascertain the mix of livelihood activities they practised in 2010/2011 and 5 years previously. Respondents had diversified their livelihood activities over time, and cultivation and pastoralism had decreased as primary sources of revenue. Reasons for the growing reliance on charcoal production include the reduced viability of alternative livelihoods (primarily farming), as a result of changing rainfall patterns and the loss of irrigation infrastructure, as well as a growing need for cash to support themselves and their families. Our results suggest that charcoal production is not a desirable activity but a safety net when times are difficult. Conservation efforts to ameliorate underlying factors driving livelihood change, such as dam restoration, could reduce the prevalence of charcoal production, but simultaneous action to cut demand is also required. We recommend that mechanisms to detect, understand and respond to social change are integrated systematically into protected area management planning, alongside traditional biodiversity monitoring.

On specimen killing in the era of conservation crisis – A quantitative case for modernizing taxonomy and biodiversity inventories

Background to the work For centuries taxonomy has relied on dead animal specimens, a practice that persists today despite the emergence of innovative biodiversity assessment methods. Taxonomists and conservationists are engaged in vigorous discussions over the necessity of killing animals for specimen sampling, but quantitative data on taxonomic trends and specimen sampling over time, which could inform these debates, are lacking. Methods We interrogated a long-term research database documenting 2,723 land vertebrate and 419 invertebrate taxa from Madagascar, and their associated specimens conserved in the major natural history museums. We further compared specimen collection and species description rates for the birds, mammals and scorpions over the last two centuries, to identify trends and links to taxon descriptions. Results We located 15,364 specimens documenting endemic mammals and 11,666 specimens documenting endemic birds collected between 1820 and 2010. Most specimens were collected at the time of the Mission Zoologique Franco-Anglo-Américaine (MZFAA) in the 1930s and during the last two decades, with major differences according to the groups considered. The small mammal and bat collections date primarily from recent years, and are paralleled by the description of new species. Lemur specimens were collected during the MZFAA but the descriptions of new taxa are recent, with the type series limited to non-killed specimens. Bird specimens, particularly of non-passerines, are mainly from the time of the MZFAA. The passerines have also been intensely collected during the last two decades; the new material has been used to solve the phylogeny of the groups and only two new endemic taxa of passerine birds have been described over the last two decades. Conclusions Our data show that specimen collection has been critical for advancing our understanding of the taxonomy of Madagascar’s biodiversity at the onset of zoological work in Madagascar, but less so in recent decades. It is crucial to look for alternatives to avoid killing animals in the name of documenting life, and encourage all efforts to share the information attached to historical and recent collections held in natural history museums. In times of conservation crisis and the advancement in digital technologies and open source sharing, it seems obsolete to kill animals in well-known taxonomic groups for the sake of enriching natural history collections around the world.

Value Chain Challenges in Two Community-Managed Fisheries in Western Madagascar: Insights for the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines

Madagascar, among the world’s poorest countries, depends heavily on small-scale fisheries for food security and income. Many of its fisheries have transitioned from subsistence- to market-oriented in recent decades, driven by the emergence of new export markets. In this chapter, we consider the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (‘SSF Guidelines’) in light of experiences from two small-scale fisheries in Madagascar: octopus (Octopus cyanea) and mud crab (Scylla serrata). We focus on articles related to value chains, post-harvest, and trade. The dispersed nature of these fisheries means fishers rely on private sector collectors to access markets. Post-harvest actors hold disproportionate negotiating power, with benefits from management initiatives accruing mainly to actors high in the value chain rather than the fishers who implement them. To address these imbalances and increase the contribution of these fisheries to poverty reduction and food security, it is critical to empower fishers and improve their representation in management processes. Data deficiencies must also be tackled, to enhance transparency and provide an evidence base for decision-making.

Use of Mangroves by Lemurs.

Despite an increasing recognition of the ecosystem services provided by mangroves, we know little about their role in maintaining terrestrial biodiversity, including primates. Madagascar’s lemurs are a top global conservation priority, with 94 % of species threatened with extinction, but records of their occurrence in mangroves are scarce. I used a mixed-methods approach to collect published and unpublished observations of lemurs in mangroves: I carried out a systematic literature search and supplemented this with a targeted information request to 1243 researchers, conservation and tourism professionals, and others who may have visited mangroves in Madagascar. I found references to, or observations of, at least 23 species in 5 families using mangroves, representing >20% of lemur species and >50% of species whose distributions include mangrove areas. Lemurs used mangroves for foraging, sleeping, and traveling between terrestrial forest patches, and some were observed as much as 3 km from the nearest permanently dry land. However, most records were anecdotal and thus tell us little about lemur ecology in this habitat. Mangroves are more widely used by lemurs than has previously been recognized and merit greater attention from primate researchers and conservationists in Madagascar.

The impact of natural resource use on bird and reptile communities within multiple-use protected areas: evidence from sub-arid Southern Madagascar

Multiple-use protected areas, in which sustainable levels of extractive livelihood activities are permitted, play an increasingly important role in the global protected area estate, and are expected to rise in prevalence. However, we know little about their effectiveness at conserving biodiversity. We surveyed bird and reptile communities in three areas across a forest disturbance gradient resulting from charcoal production and shifting cultivation within a multiple-use protected area in Madagascar’s sub-arid spiny forest. We scored individual species using a Conservation Value Index (CVI; a simple metric based on rarity, threat and distinctiveness), and estimated the total conservation value of each treatment by calculating the sum of frequency-weighted CVI scores across all present species. Bird and reptile community responses to forest disturbance were idiosyncratic. Bird richness was greatest in the moderate-disturbance treatment, but the low-disturbance treatment had the superior conservation value due to higher frequencies of locally-endemic species. Reptile richness was the same in low- and moderate-disturbance treatments, but the conservation value of the latter was greater. The high-disturbance areas had lowest richness and conservation value for both groups. For birds, increasing disturbance levels were accompanied by community turnover from high-value to low-value species, a pattern highlighted by CVI that is masked by assessing species richness alone. Although some endemic species appear to be resilient to degradation, multiple-use protected areas in Madagascar may lose biodiversity since most endemic species are forest-dependent. Stricter protected area models may be more appropriate in areas where much of the high-value biodiversity is sensitive to habitat degradation.

Accipiter henstii (Schlegel, 1873) (Falconiformes: Accipitridae): new distribution record from southwest Madagascar

The Near Threatened Henst’s goshawk Accipiter henstii is endemic to Madagascar and is widely distributed in the east, west and north of the country, but has been recorded only rarely from the subarid south and southwest where its occurrence remains unconfirmed across large areas. We present an observation of a breeding pair from Ranofoty in the Fiherenana River valley in southwest Madagascar, filling a gap in our knowledge of its distribution and adding to the avifauna of Ranobe-PK32 protected area.

Decision complacency and conservation planning: Decision Complacency

Article impact statement: : Conservation planners must use systematic decision?making tools and evidence to guide their decisions.