Exploring Madagascar’s deep past and uncertain future
By Mike Cummings
Yale News
January 5, 2023
In an interview, anthropologist Alison Richard discusses the rich history of Madagascar, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and the threats it faces.
Like many places, Madagascar is under severe environmental threat. What hope is there for preserving it?
In the southwest where we have worked together for decades, my colleagues from the University of Antananarivo and I value the plant and animal life primarily for scientific and environmental reasons. The people who live there value the forest as a source of medicine, food, wood, a place to hide cattle from rustlers, and a sacred place where their ancestors are buried. We have come to understand and embrace one another’s reasons, and a strong partnership based on a shared purpose has evolved.