Madagascar faces dual challenges in biodiversity conservation and public health. In order to identify strategies to reduce the unsustainable hunting of threatened species while maintaining or improving child nutrition, we quantified interactions among ecosystem indicators (lemur density and habitat biodiversity indices), health indicators (stunting, underweight, wasting, and anemia), nutrition, food security, and wildlife hunting through interviews of 1,750 people in 387 households and surveys of 28 wildlife transects with 156 habitat plots at 15 sites on Madagascar's Masoala Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The surveyed population ate 6,726 forest animals (mammals and birds), or a mean of 3.27 kg of wild meat per person (4.48 kg per adult equivalent) during the prior year. Local Malagasy were also highly food insecure (78% of households) and malnourished (for children under five, as many as 67% were stunted, 60% were underweight, 25% were wasted, and 40% were anemic). In some communities, nearly 75% of animal-sourced calories, 76% of protein, and 74% of iron came from forest animals-demonstrating a strong dependence on wild foods. Few micronutrient-rich alternatives to wild meats were available in adequate supply and many were highly volatile; for example, 79% of chickens died from Newcastle disease in the prior year. The survivorship of lemurs (94% of lemur species are threatened with extinction) depends on providing food security to a malnourished human population who commonly hunts wildlife for food. Currently, wildlife provides a critical source of micronutrients, yet the hunting of threatened species is an untenable solution to poor diet and food insecurity. Given the established connection between wild foods and human nutrition, reductions in forests and wildlife populations will also threaten the local food supply. In order to reduce the unsustainable hunting of threatened species while improving household food security and child health, we suggest testing the effects of increasing the affordability, accessibility, and stability of micro-nutrient rich animal-sourced foods in communities where forests contribute the most to food security.

Forests, and the vertebrate species within them, are irreplaceable sources of food and nutrition for millions of people living in areas of high biodiversity.Unfortunately, many of these forests are being cleared for agriculture, and many animals are threatened with extinction from unsustainable hunting. Forest clearing and the hunting of threatened species are untenable solutions to long-term food insecurity and adequate nutrition, jeopardizing these species' survival, the healthy functioning of ecosystems, and the cultural identities of local people. Working with communities to develop culturally appropriate ways for people to obtain sustainable and legal sources of food from forests outside of protected areas is a key component of improving both conservation and food security. We tested the feasibility, suitability, and viability of farming an abundant and traditionally eaten forest insect, Zanna tenebrosa (locally known as sakondry), in rural communities whose food security relies heavily on the hunting of threatened vertebrates. We found that the insect is high in macroand micronutrients, and can be cheaply, easily, and sustainably cultivated to sustainably diversify forest food systems without increasing habitat loss. Given the range of Z. tenebrosa, which covers a broad swath of central Africa, increasing production of this native insect may support multipronged agroecological

Background Madagascar faces dual challenges in biodiversity and public health. The survivorship of lemurs (94% of lemur species are threatened with extinction) depends on the sustainable hunting of a malnourished human population who commonly hunts them for food. Lemur meat provides a valuable source of micronutrients, yet the hunting of threatened species is an untenable solution to food insecurity. We aimed to identify strategies to reduce lemur-hunting, while maintaining or improving child health. MethodsWe quantified interactions among ecosystem indicators (lemur density and habitat biodiversity indices), health indicators (stunting, underweight, wasting, and anaemia in children), and hunting through interviews of 387 households (including 1750 people) and surveys of 28 wildlife transects with 156 habitat plots at 15 sites on the Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.