ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the evolution of one of the initiatives in conservation and development that was carried out in Madagascar in the mid-1990s. It focuses on an Integrated Conservation and Development Project then operating in the Andasibe/Mantadia Protected Area Complex, located in the hilly east-central region of the country. The chapter highlights the opportunities afforded through village-based, participatory development to reach the goal of natural resource conservation in the region. The process for communities to incorporate new and more-conservation-minded livelihood strategies requires the provision of economic alternatives to slash-and-burn rice cultivation as well as the formation or strengthening of community institutions involved in natural resources management. Community residents and project staff have used the data to construct action plans, integrating technical, social, ecological, and managerial considerations. The photographic mosaic analysis opened several new points of discussion, points essential to expanding the vision of the project and the community.
