Clarification on protected area management efforts in Madagascar during periods of heightened uncertainty and instability

Andrianambinina, F. Ollier Duranton; Waeber, Patrick Olivier; Schuurman, Derek; Lowry II, Poter P.; Wilmé, Lucienne (2022). Clarification on protected area management efforts in Madagascar during periods of heightened uncertainty and instability Madagascar Conservation & Development, 17(1), pp. 25-28. Indian Ocean e-Ink 10.4314/mcd.v17i1.7

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In early May 2022, Eklund and colleagues published an article in Nature Sustainability in which they attempted to demonstrate that the early 2020 lockdown imposed in Madagascar by the emerging COVID-19 pandemic had a direct impact on Protected Areas (PAs), with an increase in the number of fires, which then stabilized once the lockdown was over. The authors, undoubtedly in good faith but based on an incomplete understanding of the situation on the ground, were attempting to draw the attention of the international community and donors to the need to maintain and strengthen PA management efforts. Their contribution, while highlighting a real and urgent need, does not, however, do justice to Madagascar’s PA managers, who, in collaboration with the populations living in the vicinity of parks and reserves, maintained and in some instances increased efforts to ensure the integrity of parks and reserves during the COVID-19 period. Following the publication of this paper, we contacted the authors as well as the editors of Nature Sustainability in a collegial effort to draw their attention to the errors identified in the analysis and to point out how this led to a misinterpretation of what actually transpired during the lockdown. We submitted a carefully worded and argued rebuttal for possible publication in Nature Sustainability, which we regarded as justified given the nature and significance of the considerations we had carefully presented.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL
Name:	Andrianambinina, F. Ollier Duranton; Waeber, Patrick Olivier0000-0002-3229-0124; Schuurman, Derek; Lowry II, Poter P. and Wilmé, Lucienne
ISSN:	1662-2510
Publisher:	Indian Ocean e-Ink
Language:	English
Submitter:	Patrick Waeber
Date Deposited:	28 Feb 2023 16:40
Last Modified:	28 Feb 2023 16:40
Publisher DOI:	10.4314/mcd.v17i1.7
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.18892
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/18892