Risk-sensitive analysis of subsistence adaptations is warranted when ( i) outcomes

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Cultural identity is flexible, rich, and often debated, shaped by local and larger contexts. In this article we explore some of the complexity and diversity of how Mikea identity is constructed, particularly by those who identify themselves as such. The Mikea of southwestern Madagascar are associated with the forest and foraging and contrasted with Vezo fishers and Masikoro agropastoralists, yet these groups and their economic strategies both intermingle. Mystique, pride, stigma, and resource claims together provide diverse, often conflicting motivations in the use and manipulation of Mikea identity. Those who claim the label for themselves generally construct a relationship with the forest, either through present behavior and context or through oral histories linking the living with the ancestors. Nevertheless,behavior and descent may be diversely interpreted in identity claims and neither is sufficient alone to explain self-assertions of Mikea identity in every case. As with any identity, that of the Mikea is continuously recreated and transformed.

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Governments and non-govermental organizations (NGOs) that plan projects to conserve the environment and alleviate poverty often attempt to modify rural livelihoods by halting activities they judge to be destructive or inefficient and encouraging alternatives. Project planners typically do so without understanding how rural people themselves judge the value of their activities. When the alternatives planners recommend do not replace the value of banned activities, alternatives are unlikely to be adopted, and local people will refuse to participate. Human behavioral ecology and behavioral economics may provide useful tools for generating and evaluating hypotheses for how people value economic activities in their portfolios and potential alternatives. This is demonstrated with a case example from southwestern Madagascar, where plans to create a Mikea Forest National Park began with the elimination of slash-and-burn maize agriculture and the encouragement to plant labor-intensive manioc instead. Future park plans could restrict access to wild tuber patches, hunting small game, and fishing. The value of these activities is considered using observational data informed by optimal foraging theory, and experimental data describing people's time preference and covariation perception. Analyses suggest that manioc is not a suitable replacement for maize for many Mikea because the two crops differ in terms of labor requirements, delay-to-reward, and covariation with rainfall. Park planners should promote wild tuber foraging and stewardship of tuber patches and the anthropogenic landscapes in which they are found. To conserve small game, planners must provide alternative sources of protein and cash. Little effort should be spent protecting lemurs, as they are rarely eaten and never sold.