ABSTRACT
In the span of 30 years, Madagascar has been transformed from a forgotten, isolationist republic to an emblem of biodiversity and environmental crisis. Even Disney has cashed in on the island's natural image with its 2005 eponymous animated film. Behind this transformation lies a complex, multimillion-dollar effort that has linked together international conservation organizations, multilateral agencies, bilateral donors, the Malagasy government, and many passionate individuals in an effort to protect the island's flora and fauna. Conservation spending in Madagascar by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) increased more than ten-fold between 1983 and 1993 (Figure 7.1). Other actors, such as American and Swiss development aid (Figure 7.2), showed similar explosions in spending. This level of activity has — with occasional hiccups from political crises — been maintained until today. The multi-year National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), running from 1990 to 2009, mobilized almost half a billion dollars. While the post-NEAP future is in question due to the impacts of a national political crisis and the global economic downturn on conservation funding, conservation organizations such as the WWF, Conservation International (CI), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) are as active as ever, joined by a host of smaller actors and an entire generation of Malagasy professionals and students.
