%0 Journal Article
%T Debunking three myths about Madagascar¡¯s deforestation
%A Nadia Rabesahala Horning
%J Madagascar Conservation & Development
%D 2012
%I Madagascar Wildlife Conservation, Jane Goodall Institute Switzerland
%X After more than three decades of describing, explaining, and tackling deforestation in Madagascar, the problem persists. Why do researchers, practitioners, politicians, and farmers remain perplexed about this problem? This essay offers that our collective thinking of the past three decades has inadvertently perpetuated three myths. The first is that farmers are central agents of deforestation. The second is that the Malagasy state has the capacity and willingness to address the problem. And the third is that Madagascar is unique, especially relative to the rest of Africa. This essay examines each of these established ¡®truths¡¯ in an effort to overcome deforestation and all the degradation ¨C environmental, social, and economic ¨C that accompanies it. It argues that the assumptions behind conservation policies and projects are perpetuated by a class of powerful domestic and foreign individuals whose interests are best served by not questioning their validity. It concludes that fighting deforestation from now on must entail a deliberate, collective effort to question these assumptions and a willingness to open up the thinking to farmers and fellow Africans.R¨¦SUM¨¦Le probl¨¨me de la d¨¦forestation persiste ¨¤ Madagascar et cela malgr¨¦ les efforts acharn¨¦s des chercheurs, des professionnels du d¨¦veloppement et de la conservation, des dirigeants politiques et des paysans qui, conjointement ou individuellement, essaient de d¨¦crire, d¡¯expliquer et de r¨¦soudre ce probl¨¨me depuis plus de trente ans. Pourquoi restent-ils donc tous d¨¦sempar¨¦s face ¨¤ ce sujet ? La pr¨¦sente analyse d¨¦montre qu¡¯au cours des trente derni¨¨res ann¨¦es, nous avons collectivement commis un impair en perp¨¦tuant trois mythes. Le premier, selon nous, est d¡¯avoir admis que les fermiers sont les principaux responsables de la d¨¦forestation. Ensuite, nous avons cr  que l¡¯¨¦tat malgache avait la capacit¨¦ et la volont¨¦ de rem¨¦dier ¨¤ la situation. Enfin, nous avons pens¨¦ que Madagascar est diff¨¦rente du reste de l¡¯Afrique. Ce travail examine chacune de ces ¡®v¨¦rit¨¦s¡¯ ¨¦tablies afin de mieux appr¨¦hender les probl¨¨mes de la d¨¦forestation et des d¨¦gradations environnementale, sociale et ¨¦conomique qui les accompagnent. Le principal argument est bas¨¦ sur l¡¯hypoth¨¨se qui veut que la politique et les projets de conservation sont d¨¦fendus par une classe puissante compos¨¦e ¨¤ la fois de d¨¦cideurs nationaux et ¨¦trangers qui ne mettent pas en question la validit¨¦ de ces mythes afin de ne pas desservir leurs propres int¨¦r¨ºts. En conclusion, pour combattre la d¨¦forestation, il faudra dor¨¦navant remettre en question de man
%K Madagascar
%K deforestation
%K slash and burn
%K agriculture
%K Africa
%K conservation
%K politics
%K farmers
%K fermiers
%K NGO
%K ONG
%K donateurs
%K bailleurs
%K donors
%U http://www.journalmcd.com/index.php/mcd/rt/metadata/mcd.v7i3.3