ABSTRACT
Madagascar has long been renowned for its unique and threatened biodiversity, as well as the rich and diverse cultures of the Malagasy people and the severe poverty and exposure to natural disaster that they endure. The island has frequently appeared in the media, however, as a result of political turmoil and natural resource governance dynamics. The infamous Daewoo land deal, subsequent political protests and the ousting of the country’s president, Marc Ravalomanana, in 2009 were followed by international media attention directed at the illegal rose-wood and ebony trade, controversial oil sands and iron extraction deals and the negative social and environmental impacts of high-profile multinational mining projects (see Harbinson 2007a, 2007b; Andrew Lees Trust 2009; Global Witness and Environmental Investigation Agency 2009; Ballet et al 2010; Draper 2010; Gingembre et al 2010; Vinciguerra, 2010; Andrianirina-Ratsialonana et al 2011; Burnod et al 2011).
