The use of natural resources to improve household income, health, and nutrition within the forests of Kianjavato, Madagascar

Borgerson, Cortni; Johnson, Steig E.; Louis, Edward E.; Holmes, Sheila M.; Anjaranirina, Evelin Jean Gasta; Randriamady, Hervet J; Golden, Christopher D.

doi:10.4314/mcd.v13i1.6

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Those surveyed ate 6,726 forest animals (mean of 7 mammals and 10 birds per household), or ∼3.27 kg of wild meat per person (4.48 kg per adult equivalent) during the prior year. This amount of wildlife is much higher than that reported in other regions of Madagascar including Kianjavato (Borgerson et al, 2018a), Alaotra (Borgerson et al, 2018b), and Betampona (Golden et al, 2014b), but it is similar to that reported in nearby Makira (Golden et al, 2014a;Brook et al, 2019), and far less than the amount eaten in the Amazon and Congo basins (63 and 51 kg/capita/year, respectively; Nasi et al, 2011). Further, as much as 75% of all meat eaten in some communities was from forest animals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Food Insecurity and the Unsustainable Hunting of Wildlife in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Borgerson

Razafindrapaoly

Rajaona

et al. 2019

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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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.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Food Insecurity and the Unsustainable Hunting of Wildlife in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Borgerson

Razafindrapaoly

Rajaona

et al. 2019

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…Additionally, northern populations experience greater intensities of hunting pressures compared to southern populations 108 , which may drive extreme losses in population size and further reduce genetic variability and increase population differentiation through greater levels of inbreeding or local extinctions. Hunting in southern localities has been recently recognized as a threat to populations as well 109 . Further investigations into the local drivers of genetic structure in this taxon are currently underway and will clarify the regional impacts of natural features and landcover modification on more immediate dispersal capacity, as well as more explicitly assess the impacts of historical landcover of observed genetic structure in this taxon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic pressures drive population genetic structuring across a Critically Endangered lemur species range

Baden¹,

Mancini²,

Federman³

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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In recent decades Madagascar has experienced significant habitat loss and modification, with minimal understanding of how human land use practices have impacted the evolution of its flora and fauna. In light of ongoing and intensifying anthropogenic pressures, we seek new insight into mechanisms driving genetic variability on this island, using a Critically Endangered lemur species, the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata), as a test case. Here, we examine the relative influence of natural and anthropogenic landscape features that we predict will impose barriers to dispersal and promote genetic structuring across the species range. Using circuit theory, we model functional connectivity among 18 sampling localities using population-based genetic distance (FST). We optimized resistance surfaces using genetic algorithms and assessed their performance using maximum-likelihood population-effects mixed models. The best supported resistance model was a composite surface that included two anthropogenic features, habitat cover and distance to villages, suggesting that rapid land cover modification by humans has driven change in the genetic structure of wild lemurs. Primary conservation priority should be placed on mitigating further forest loss and connecting regions identified as having low dispersal potential to prevent further loss of genetic diversity and promote the survival of other moist forest specialists.

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“…These wild foods are critically important in increasing dietary diversity, especially given the scarcity and cost of animal-source foods, high-starch diets with low micronutrient content, and the potential for extreme weather events, climate change and disease to disrupt agroecosystems. These challenges are even more important to understand in the context of remote rainforest areas of north-eastern Madagascar where reliance on wild foods is much higher than other parts of the country ( 9 ) and where seasonality will likely play a large role in determining the quantity and quality of foods available. By characterizing the diet in these remote regions, policy makers and public health practitioners can best identify foods that are culturally and nutritionally important, and target interventions to reduce rates of malnutrition of similar populations.…”

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confidence: 99%

Seasonal trends of nutrient intake in rainforest communities of north-eastern Madagascar

Golden

Vaitla

Ravaoliny

et al. 2019

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective:We collected dietary records over the course of nine months to comprehensively characterize the consumption patterns of Malagasy people living in remote rainforest areas of north-eastern Madagascar.Design:The present study was a prospective longitudinal cohort study to estimate dietary diversity and nutrient intake for a suite of macronutrients, micronutrients and vitamins for 152 randomly selected households in two communities.Setting:Madagascar, with over 25 million people living in an area the size of France, faces a multitude of nutritional challenges. Micronutrient-poor staples, especially rice, roots and tubers, comprise nearly 80 % of the Malagasy diet by weight. The remaining dietary components (including wild foods and animal-source foods) are critical for nutrition. We focus our study in north-eastern Madagascar, characterized by access to rainforest, rice paddies and local agriculture.Participants:We enrolled men, women and children of both sexes and all ages in a randomized sample of households in two communities.Results:Although the Household Dietary Diversity Score and Food Consumption Score reflect high dietary diversity, the Minimum Dietary Diversity–Women indicator suggests poor micronutrient adequacy. The food intake data confirm a mixed nutritional picture. We found that the median individual consumed less than 50 % of his/her age/sex-specific Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamins A, B12, D and E, and Ca, and less than 100 % of his/her EAR for energy, riboflavin, folate and Na.Conclusions:Malnutrition in remote communities of north-eastern Madagascar is pervasive and multidimensional, indicating an urgent need for comprehensive public health and development interventions focused on providing nutritional security.

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The use of natural resources to improve household income, health, and nutrition within the forests of Kianjavato, Madagascar

Abstract: Understanding natural resource extraction in Madagascar is key to developing wider conservation and management strategies that ensure the continued delivery of essential ecosystem services, and the development of health and economic strategies to meet ARTICLE

Cited by 27 publications

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Food Insecurity and the Unsustainable Hunting of Wildlife in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Food Insecurity and the Unsustainable Hunting of Wildlife in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Anthropogenic pressures drive population genetic structuring across a Critically Endangered lemur species range

Seasonal trends of nutrient intake in rainforest communities of north-eastern Madagascar

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