RESUMEN
The northeast of Madagascar is as diverse as it is threatened. The area bordering the Analanjirofo and SAVA regions contains six protected areas and at least 22 lemur species. Many applied research and conservation programs have been established in the region with the aim of ensuring both wildlife and people thrive in the long term. While most of the remaining humid evergreen forest of northeast Madagascar is formally protected, the local human population depends heavily on the land, and unsustainable natural resource use threatens this biodiversity hotspot. Drawing from our collective experiences managing conservation activities and research programs in northeast Madagascar, we discuss the major threats to the region and advocate for eight conservation activities that help reduce threats and protect the environment, providing specific examples from our own programs. These include (1) empowering local conservation actors, (2) ensuring effectively protected habitat, (3) expanding reforestation, (4) establishing and continuing long-term research and monitoring, (5) reducing food insecurity, (6) supporting environmental education, (7) promoting sustainable livelihoods, and (8) expanding community health initiatives. Lastly, we provide a list of actions that individuals can take to join us in supporting and promoting lemur conservation.
Asunto(s)
Lemur , Lemuridae , Humanos , Animales , Madagascar , Conservación de los Recursos Naturales , Ecosistema , BiodiversidadRESUMEN
Environmental education programs are critically important for raising awareness about global and local environmental concerns, by providing the knowledge, tools, and means for young and old generations to cope with current challenges. Of the greatest importance is the implementation of environmental education programs in biodiversity hotspots where environmental crises are high and resources to fund mitigation programs are low. Madagascar is one such priority hotspot, featuring intensive wildlife-human conflicts due to shrinking natural environments. The Duke Lemur Center-SAVA Conservation Initiative has been conducting environmental education activities in the SAVA region, northeastern Madagascar, since 2011. These activities have been aimed at increasing awareness of local and global environmental issues and at stimulating the involvement of local school students. Our initiatives have predominantly supported teacher trainings to provide teachers with environmental education content, examples, and recommendations on how to integrate activities into their regular curricula, commonly referred to as a "cascade approach". Due to logistical hurdles, including high teacher turnover rates, however, these interventions have not been monitored to assess their efficacy. Thus, to better inform current and future interventions, we designed and implemented classroom-based surveys to gather baseline data on the basic knowledge of SAVA students and their perceptions of the environment. We identify informational gaps in surveyed schools, including those located in large towns vs. villages, and those with trained vs. untrained teachers. Based on these results, we make recommendations for future environmental education efforts in the region, including activities that could address real-life environmental problems and decision-making solutions.