Protected Areas In Madagascar Research Articles

The effect of a political crisis on performance of community forests and protected areas in Madagascar

Understanding the effectiveness of conservation interventions during times of political instability is important given how much of the world’s biodiversity is concentrated in politically fragile nations. Here, we investigate the effect of a political crisis on the relative performance of community managed forests versus protected areas in terms of reducing deforestation in Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot. We use remotely sensed data and statistical matching within an event study design to isolate the effect of the crisis and post-crisis period on performance. Annual rates of deforestation accelerated at the end of the crisis and were higher in community forests than in protected areas. After controlling for differences in location and other confounding variables, we find no difference in performance during the crisis, but community-managed forests performed worse in post-crisis years. These findings suggest that, as a political crisis subsides and deforestation pressures intensify, community-based conservation may be less resilient than state protection.

Projecting forest cover in Madagascar's protected areas to 2050 and its implications for lemur conservation

AbstractPredicting future conservation needs can help inform conservation management but is subject to uncertainty. We measured deforestation rates during 2015–2017 for 114 protected areas in Madagascar, linked deforestation to the status of protection according to IUCN categories I–VI, used recent deforestation rates to extrapolate forest cover over 2017–2050 and linked the size of forest blocks to the projected persistence of lemur subpopulations. In the six IUCN categories for protected areas in Madagascar the median size of forest blocks is 9–37 km2 and median annual deforestation rates range from 0.02% in the single IUCN category III site to 0.19% in category II and 1.95% in category VI sites. In 2017, 40% of all forest blocks within protected areas were < 10 km2, and this is projected to increase to 45% in 2050. Apart from these small forest fragments, the modal site of forest blocks was 160–320 km2 in 2017, and this is projected to decrease to 80–160 km2 in 2050. The range of > 50% of all lemur species exclusively contains forest blocks of < 10 km2. The modal size of forest blocks > 10 km2 is predicted to remain at 120 km2 until 2050. Although uncertainty remains, these analyses provide hope that forest blocks within the protected areas of Madagascar will remain large enough to maintain lemur subpopulations for most species until 2050. This should allow sufficient time for the implementation of effective conservation measures.

Strengthening a resilient protected area workforce to advance the 30x30 goal: the case of Madagascar

Protected areas depend on a reliable and strong workforce to achieve biodiversity conservation goals. The Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted a target to protect at least 30 per cent of the planet’s land and seas by 2030, also known as 30x30. To reach and maintain this ambitious goal, an expanded conservation workforce is indispensable. Despite this, most protected areas are currently critically understaffed. This study examines staffing in shared governance protected areas in Madagascar - a biodiversity hotspot that has significantly expanded its protected area network since 2015. We explore factors that attract and retain protected area workers in order to suggest recommendations for workforce development. We employ a qualitative approach utilising face-to-face interviews and a survey of protected area staff and local communities in Madagascar. We obtained data from 62 individuals across 10 protected areas, under IUCN management categories II, V and VI. Findings indicate that understaffing is a dynamic rather than a static phenomenon. A key motivation for working in the protected area sector is place attachment. Non-monetary work practices including place-based empowerment of community groups and gender-inclusive approaches can improve organisational culture to meet growing human resource needs in protected areas. By charting a new path for workforce development, protected areas may be able to address long standing human resources issues and contribute to community empowerment and sustainable livelihood.

Spatial efficiency of protected mangrove areas in Madagascar

Protected Areas (PAs) are an important nature-based solution for mangrove conservation and rehabilitation. We evaluated spatial effectiveness of PAs for mangroves toward achieving Global Conservation Targets (GCTs). The hypothesis for this study was that PAs with different attributes have insignificant effects on mangrove conservation. We assessed the proportions of the most vulnerable mangroves inside PAs, and focused on a typical mangrove country (Madagascar). First, based on remote sensing technology and big data in Google Earth Engine (GEE), we identified the exposure location of mangroves, and determined the environmental factors significantly influencing mangrove distribution. Then, Vulnerability Assessment and Hot-Spot Analysis models were used to measure spatial vulnerability and hotspots of those values, respectively. Finally, we implemented the statistics for the most vulnerable mangroves inside PAs. It was found that: i. Mangroves were mainly abundant in west and east coasts with low latitudes, and the most typical environmental factor influencing mangrove distribution was elevation and; ii. PAs sheltered 486.18 km2 (22.16%) of the most vulnerable mangroves in Madagascar. Overall, PAs in Madagascar failed to match 30% of spatial requirements proposed by GCTs (A key proportion of spatial requirements used to reverse trends in biodiversity loss). This study provides a quantitative paradigm for verifying the spatial efficiency of PAs, and will inform local decision-makers on places where mangroves are facing adaption loss to optimize mangrove conservation in future.

Assessment of the threatened carnivore community in the recently expanded rainforest protected area Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve, Madagascar

Madagascar is an island nation renowned for its biodiversity and species endemism, yet it is still largely understudied despite intense anthropogenic threats including forest loss and edge effects. Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve is a recently expanded rainforest protected area that is lacking detailed surveys and assessments of the native carnivore community of the endemic family Eupleridae. To identify which terrestrial carnivores occupy the reserve and what anthropogenic disturbances and factors best explain their occurrence patterns, we deployed 35 motion-activated cameras to detect native and introduced carnivores. From November 2018 to February 2019, we collected 2918 unique capture events (all species) and confirmed the presence of 5 euplerids: Galidia elegans, Galidictis fasciata, Eupleres goudotii, Fossa fossana, and Cryptoprocta ferox. These results extend the known range of E. goudotii and G. fasciata. In the reserve, F. fossana and G. elegans were the most common and widespread native carnivores, while E. goudotii was the rarest. We highlight the negative impact of edge effects on G. fasciata and F. fossana and the threat posed by the free-ranging non-native carnivore C. familiaris. This study represents the first detailed survey and occurrence estimates of the carnivore community of this protected area, allowing comparison with other protected areas in Madagascar. Our empirical findings show that anthropogenic disturbance negatively impacts carnivore existence within the Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve and provide important management recommendations for protecting the carnivore community and the co-occurring wildlife living within this area.

What constitutes a useful measure of protected area effectiveness? A case study of management inputs and protected area impacts in Madagascar

AbstractProtected areas are one of the key tools for conserving biodiversity and recent studies have highlighted the positive impact they can have in avoiding habitat conversion. However, the relationship to management actions on the ground is far less studied and we currently do not know which management actions are the most crucial for success. To investigate this, we studied the effectiveness of the protected area network of Madagascar. We estimated the impact of individual protected areas in avoiding deforestation, accounting for confounding factors (elevation, slope, distance to urban centers and infrastructure, and distance to forest edge). We then investigated whether Protected Area Management Effectiveness scores, and their different facets, explained the variation observed. We found that the majority of the analyzed protected areas in Madagascar do reduce deforestation. Protected areas with higher management scores did not perform better in terms of avoiding deforestation. We discuss potential explanations for these results, and how they might influence the validity of current methods for estimating different facets of protected area effectiveness under different deforestation scenarios.

Mind the gap: the use of research in protected area management in Madagascar

It is increasingly well recognised that a lot of conservation-related research is not being used to improve conservation practice. However, much of the research in this area has been conducted with conservation managers in high income countries, where the barriers to accessing and using research may be different. We conducted questionnaires ( n =85) and face to face interviews ( n =54) with managers of protected areas in Madagascar to explore their use of research results. Despite considering research results—including peer reviewed articles, theses, in-house research and research by other organisations—a very useful information source, many managers do not use research results regularly to inform their on-the-ground actions. Instead they tend to rely on experience, or advice from others. The reasons for the low use of research results are many and varied but include barriers to accessing research, especially peer-reviewed publications and reports published by other organisations. Managers also raised concern about the practical relevance of some of the research being conducted in their protected areas. We identify a series of resources which can be useful to managers to improve the access they have to research results and highlight a series of steps which researchers can follow to increase the likelihood of their research being used. We also suggest there is a role for the Malagasy authorities in improving the ways in which research reports— received as part of the conditions of research permits— are shared and archived. Researchers are increasingly aware of the moral imperative that research conducted should be available to inform practice, and protected area managers want access to the best possible information to inform their decisions. With such good intentions, overcoming the gap between research and practice should not be difficult with good communication and essential to improving conservation management in Madagascar.

Management impacts on fire occurrence: A comparison of fire regimes of African and South American tropical savannas in different protected areas

Humans can alter fire dynamics in grassland systems by changing fire frequency, fire seasonality and fuel conditions. These changes have effects on vegetation structure and recovery, species composition, and ecosystem function. Understanding how human management can affect fire regimes is vital to detect potential changes in the resilience of plant communities, and to predict vegetation responses to human interventions. We evaluated the fire regimes of two recently protected areas in Madagascar (Ibity and Itremo NPA) and one in Brazil (Serra do Cipó NP) before and after livestock exclusion and fire suppression policies. We compare the pre- and post-management fire history in these areas and analyze differences in terms of total annual burned area, density of ignitions, burn scar size distribution, fire return period and seasonal fire distribution. More than 90% of total park areas were burned at least once during the studied period, for all parks. We observed a significant reduction in the number of ignitions for Ibity NPA and Serra do Cipó NP after livestock exclusion and active fire suppression, but no significant change in total burned area for each protected area. We also observed a seasonal shift in burning, with fires happening later in the fire season (October–November) after management intervention. However, the protected areas in Madagascar had shorter fire return intervals (3.23 and 1.82 years) than those in Brazil (7.91 years). Our results demonstrate that fire exclusion is unattainable, and probably unwarranted in tropical grassland conservation areas, but show how human intervention in fire and vegetation patterns can alter various aspects of the fire regimes. This information can help with formulating realistic and effective fire management policies in these valuable conservation areas.

Changing governance, changing inequalities: Protected area co-management and access to forest ecosystem services: a Madagascar case study

Access, in reference to Ecosystem services (ES), is defined as the capacity to gain benefits from the environment. There has been a global shift in natural resource governance, particularly increased co-management of protected areas (PAs). Yet there has been little research on how this change may be affecting access to ES. We aim to fill this research gap by considering: (a) what ES are considered most important, (b) what factors are important in determining whether a person can access ES, and (c) how rules and regulations regarding ES access are decided and enforced.Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews with stakeholders in a case study PA in Madagascar, co-managed by local community associations (VOIs) and an NGO. Data analysis was framed around the IPBES framework and access factors.Respondents considered provisioning services most important, but also valued cultural and regulating services. Institutions and social identity had the largest impact on access to ES. VOI members and individuals who knew VOI committee members had greater access to ES than non-members. Findings show that co-management may be shifting ES access inequalities rather than reducing them, and we outline a number of challenges relating to PA co-management.

Threats to a rainforest carnivore community: A multi-year assessment of occupancy and co-occurrence in Madagascar

Protected areas (PA) aim to eliminate many of the threats that species face on the greater landscape. In the last three decades, PA's have expanded considerably; however, quantitative assessments of how well they have mitigated threats to habitat and biodiversity are very limited. Habitat bordering PA's and the wildlife that use it are threatened by a wide-range of anthropogenic pressures (e.g., edge effects, fragmentation, and introduced predators) and this situation is particularly acute for low-density, poorly studied carnivore communities. From 2010 to 2015, we photographically sampled within (contiguous forest) and bordering (degraded, fragmented forest) a UNESCO World Heritage rainforest PA in Madagascar - Ranomafana National Park (RNP). We investigated the effects of invasive predators, local people presence, and habitat quality on the endemic rainforest carnivore community using static, dynamic, and co-occurrence models. We found native carnivores to be absent or have a low probability of occurrence in degraded forest bordering the PA, while local people and dogs (Canis familiaris) had high occurrence. Madagascar's largest endemic carnivore, the fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) and the much smaller ring-tailed vontsira (Galidia elegans), occurrence in RNP declined rapidly over six years; their strong co-occurrence with dogs suggests interspecific competition, direct aggression/mortality, or disease as the cause. We highlight the dangers posed to biodiversity, particularly carnivores, from anthropogenic pressures bordering PA's and present recommendations to address increased human and dog activity, including programs to control dogs and their impact on biodiversity.

Local awareness and perceptions: consequences for conservation of marsh habitat at Lake Alaotra for one of the world's rarest lemurs

AbstractManagement and monitoring of community-based protected areas in Madagascar remain challenging because of a lack of financial, human and technical resources, and capacity. At Lake Alaotra, conversion of marshland for rice cultivation and a lack of effective habitat protection have pushed the locally endemic Alaotra gentle lemur Hapalemur alaotrensis to the brink of extinction. The highest density of the species is found in the locally managed Park Bandro, a high-priority conservation zone within the Lake Alaotra New Protected Area. We evaluated local awareness and perceptions of Park Bandro, and discussed preferred management options with local communities. Two questionnaire surveys were carried out, one with 180 participants at six sites around the lake and marsh, and another with 50 participants in the village adjacent to Park Bandro. The majority of participants knew of the existence of Park Bandro but most did not know its purpose or size. Values and perceptions of local communities were influenced by occupation and distance to the Park, with fishers being most aware of the Park. We found that local people had a high level of environmental awareness and were willing to discuss zonation and alternative resource management strategies as long as these activities could provide a tangible livelihood benefit. Lack of awareness among local resource users regarding the purpose and status of protected areas such as Park Bandro is a challenge that needs to be addressed, and one that is relevant for environmental education and management of protected areas throughout Madagascar.

Prioritizing protected areas in Madagascar for lemur diversity using a multidimensional perspective

Biodiversity is affected by anthropogenic activities, with a trend of decreasing species richness with habitat degradation. Decreasing species richness erodes evolutionary history and ecosystem function, but taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity can have contrasting patterns. It is essential to measure these dimensions of biodiversity explicitly and assess how they are valued in prioritizing protected areas (PAs) to conserve diversity. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, with high diversity and endemism coupled with heavy anthropogenic pressure. The endemic primates – lemurs – are the most endangered mammal taxon. A recent action plan prioritized PAs based on lemur species richness, weighted by endangerment. This scheme does not capture the evolutionary, functional, or biogeographic components of biodiversity, nor does it directly assess the level of human threat to those PAs. I compiled the largest dataset on lemur community composition in 100 PAs, including almost all lemur species (98 species). I combined data on lemur occurrence, their phylogeny, functional traits, IUCN Red List status, and environmental variables including deforestation between the years 2000 and 2014. I ranked PAs based on 14 metrics as well as the sum of metrics to determine how PA priorities compare under different valuation schemes. Based on the sum of seven metrics, I identified the top 25 PAs for lemur conservation. With these priority rankings, I propose areas of high lemur diversity, habitat heterogeneity and productivity, and deforestation be the focus of future conservation activities to maximize community resilience and prevent the erosion of evolutionary diversity and ecosystem function.

The impact of natural resource use on bird and reptile communities within multiple-use protected areas: evidence from sub-arid Southern Madagascar

Multiple-use protected areas, in which sustainable levels of extractive livelihood activities are permitted, play an increasingly important role in the global protected area estate, and are expected to rise in prevalence. However, we know little about their effectiveness at conserving biodiversity. We surveyed bird and reptile communities in three areas across a forest disturbance gradient resulting from charcoal production and shifting cultivation within a multiple-use protected area in Madagascar’s sub-arid spiny forest. We scored individual species using a Conservation Value Index (CVI; a simple metric based on rarity, threat and distinctiveness), and estimated the total conservation value of each treatment by calculating the sum of frequency-weighted CVI scores across all present species. Bird and reptile community responses to forest disturbance were idiosyncratic. Bird richness was greatest in the moderate-disturbance treatment, but the low-disturbance treatment had the superior conservation value due to higher frequencies of locally-endemic species. Reptile richness was the same in low- and moderate-disturbance treatments, but the conservation value of the latter was greater. The high-disturbance areas had lowest richness and conservation value for both groups. For birds, increasing disturbance levels were accompanied by community turnover from high-value to low-value species, a pattern highlighted by CVI that is masked by assessing species richness alone. Although some endemic species appear to be resilient to degradation, multiple-use protected areas in Madagascar may lose biodiversity since most endemic species are forest-dependent. Stricter protected area models may be more appropriate in areas where much of the high-value biodiversity is sensitive to habitat degradation.

Oblique aerial photography: a novel tool for the monitoring and participatory management of protected areas

Protected areas are our principal conservation strategy, but require surveillance and monitoring for effective management. Many are threatened by shifting cultivation, a practice that is difficult to detect accurately with satellite imagery and is generally carried out clandestinely in isolated areas. Since 2010, oblique aerial photography has been used to detect, understand and rapidly respond to shifting cultivation in national parks and new protected areas in Madagascar. Protected areas are flown over annually at a height of 500 m above the ground along fixed transects spaced 3 km or 6 km apart: comparison of images between years reveals new clearings, which are accurately located and measured using Google Earth and GIS software. Aerial images are used by foot patrols to locate clearings on the ground and enforce rules (in national parks) or improve dialogue between protected area managers and shifting cultivators (in new protected areas). Oblique images are intuitively easy to understand and thus provide a powerful tool for discussions with resource users and other stakeholders to facilitate participatory management. The method used is significantly cheaper than the use of satellite images and requires minimal training, and thus has potential for use by protected area management agencies worldwide.

Les baobabs de Madagascar : Quel cadre réglementaire pour leur conservation ?

With lemurs, baobabs are the most emblematic species of Madagascar internationally. Seven species of the nine existing in the world are Madagascan endemic. This fact testifies the high rate of the biodiversity of the island. Having signed a number of international conventions, Madagascar intends to underline its commitment to the management and conservation of its natural resources. The international system of conservation framing is used for the implementation of national strategy. Thus, in addition to the international system of conservation systems such as the CBD, IUCN or CITES, baobabs of Madagascar are considered as non - timber forest products according to Decree N. 2915/87 of 7 September 1987 related to products accessories forest even if no term is clearly stipulated in this text. Moreover, there is no regulatory framework or specific text about conservation or exploitation of baobabs in Madagascar. Protected areas are then the only protection structures for baobabs. All species of Malagasy baobabs are represented in protected areas but their representation differs depending on the distribution of each species. Except for two protected areas, the baobab is not yet among the specific targets of conservation of protected areas in Madagascar. Adansonia grandidieri is an exception. It benefits indeed from two regional frameworks that specify measures to protect the species and priority activities to be undertaken for the species with the Dinan'ny Menabe and the regional conservation strategy for the species validated in 2013. At the local level, tools and instruments governing the management transfer could constitute framing elements for the management of baobabs. Some species have in fact nonnegligible economic values without forgetting the cultural and religious values of some baobab trees. The implementation of the strategy for the conservation of each species is necessary at all levels especially in protected areas as three species are classified as ‘Endangered’ by IUCN. The conservation is necessary to ensure both sustainability of the species and integrity of all uses of baobabs.

The impact of forest logging and fragmentation on carnivore species composition, density and occupancy in Madagascar's rainforests

AbstractForest carnivores are threatened globally by logging and forest fragmentation yet we know relatively little about how such change affects predator populations. This is especially true in Madagascar, where carnivores have not been extensively studied. To understand better the effects of logging and fragmentation on Malagasy carnivores we evaluated species composition, density of fossaCryptoprocta feroxand Malagasy civetFossa fossana, and carnivore occupancy in central-eastern Madagascar. We photographically-sampled carnivores in two contiguous (primary and selectively-logged) and two fragmented rainforests (fragments <2.5 and >15 km from intact forest). Species composition varied, with more native carnivores in the contiguous than fragmented rainforests.F. fossanawas absent from fragmented rainforests and at a lower density in selectively-logged than in primary rainforest (mean 1.38±SE 0.22 and 3.19±SE 0.55 individuals km−2, respectively).C. feroxwas detected in fragments <2.5 km from forest and had similar densities in primary and selectively-logged forests (0.12±SE 0.05 and 0.09±SE 0.04 adults km−2, respectively) but was absent in fragments >15 km from forest. We identified only two protected areas in Madagascar that may maintain >300 adultC. ferox. Occupancy of broad-striped mongooseGalidictis fasciatawas positively related to fragment size whereas occupancy of ring-tailed mongooseGalidia elegans eleganswas negatively associated with increasing exotic wild cat (Felisspp.) activity at a camera site. Degraded rainforest fragments are difficult environments for Malagasy carnivores to occupy; there is a need to prioritize the reconnection and maintenance of contiguous forest tracts.

Tsidy, Repahaka sy Fotsife: 15 years research on nocturnal lemurs in the Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar1

Tsidy, Repahaka sy Fotsife from the Malagasy: Mouse lemur, sportive lemur and woolly lemur. "The Ankarafantsika Lemur Project", is based at the field station of Ampijoroa in the National Park of Ankarafantsika in the North-West of Madagascar and is conducted by the Institute of Zoology from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover (Germany) in close collaboration with the local universities of Antananarivo, of Mahajanga and Madagascar National Parks (authorities for the management of protected areas in Madagascar). The project started in 1996. The goal is to enhance our knowledge on the adaptation and evolution of a previously neglected group of primates, the nocturnal lemurs, and to contribute to their conservation. Thus, researchers study the diversity, ecology, communication and socio-biology of the nocturnal lemurs. They discovered one new mouse lemur species (Microcebus ravelobensis) in this area. They characterised aspects of the morphometry, genetics, communication, ecology, social traits and recently, cognitive abilities of sympatrically living mouse-sized (Microcebus murinus and M. ravelobensis) and cat-sized lemur species (Lepilemur edwardsi and Avahi occidentalis). Some major results are presented in this article showing the importance of exchanging experience, educating Malagasy students and field guides and joint work with Malagasy partners in order to deepen our knowledge on the biology of endemic species. This knowledge is crucial to establish efficient management plans and thus contribute to the conservation of threatened species.

Bushmeat hunting and use in the Makira Forest, north-eastern Madagascar: a conservation and livelihoods issue

In the 2003 Durban Vision the Malagasy government committed to tripling the amount of protected areas in Madagascar by 2009. This extensive expansion needs to involve an assessment of the potential impacts on the people who rely on forest resources for subsistence. Wildlife for human consumption (bushmeat) is one such resource that has received great attention on mainland Africa but has largely been ignored in Madagascar until recently. In terms of biomass, hunting in Madagascar appears to be on a lesser scale compared to areas of mainland Africa. However, because of the life-history characteristics associated with hunted primate and carnivore species in Madagascar even small-scale hunting is a major threat to long-term conservation. In this study I used semi-structured interviews to quantify annual rates of bushmeat harvest in 14 villages adjacent to the Makira Forest in north-eastern Madagascar. Interviews revealed that 23 mammal species were hunted for consumption, providing a new insight into the scale and frequency of bushmeat use. Harvest data and life-history information were sufficient to allow quantitative assessments of sustainability for four species of lemur (black and white ruffed lemur Varecia variegata, indri Indri indri, eastern bamboo lemur Hapalemur griseus and white-fronted brown lemur Eulemur albifrons) and a species of the carnivore family Eupleridae (fossa Cryptoprocta ferox). Model results suggest hunting of these species is probably unsustainable. This research presents clear evidence that hunting is a major conservation and livelihoods issue in Madagascar and needs to be considered in the planning stages of protected area development to address better the needs of local people.

Conservation Genetics of the Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) Population from Andohahela National Park, Southeast Madagascar, with a Discussion on the Conservation of This Declining Species

The radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), endemic to the spiny forest of southern Madagascar, had virtually never been studied in the wild until the late 1990s. Recent research projects and surveys have contributed to defining the extent of the decline of the species, and it now appears that A. radiata faces serious extinction risks unless current trends are halted. As part of an ongoing conservation genetics project concerning the species, we investigated genetic diversity and differentiation of the isolated tortoise population from Parc National d'Andohahela (PNA), considered as one of the last remaining sanctuaries of the species in the southeast, where Antanosy people consume tortoise meat. Genetic diversity at PNA was similar to other populations, but differentiation was the greatest of all sites sampled, emphasizing the conservation value of this population. However, our most important finding was that the majority of captured tortoises at PNA were relatively small males, indicating that recruitment may be very low. We found physical evidence that Antanosy poachers are removing the largest individuals from the population, despite their official protection within the park. We discuss conservation issues related to A. radiata, including the role of protected areas in Madagascar, the importance of understanding the taboo toward tortoises in Antandroy and Mahafaly communities, and the pertinence of the current Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species listing of the species.

The Cost of Conservation

C. Kremen et al. (“Aligning conservation priorities across taxa in Madagascar with high-resolution planning tools,” Reports, 11 April, p. [222][1]) proposed a systematic plan for acquiring new protected areas in Madagascar, using extensive new species richness data, but their analysis did not