Tate Moyer
Pronouns: She/Her
Research Mentor(s): Brian Klein
Co-Presenter: Smith, Olivia
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Afroamerican and African Studies / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 3 – 1:40pm – 2:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Tate Moyer, Brian Klein
Presenter: 5
Abstract
Madagascar is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot, with more than 80% of the its flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. However, it is also one of the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita GDP, and its rural population relies heavily on proximate resources for subsistence purposes. This reality has put the island’s ecosystems and mega-biodiversity under extreme pressure–a dynamic that has consequently made Madagascar a top priority for intervention in the eyes of global conservation actors. Recognizing the failure of many previous conservation models to achieve meaningful reductions in environmental degradation, many NGOs and other involved actors have turned to community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in hopes of realizing better outcomes. Recently, a feature of many of these projects and programs has been the use of dina–local codes based in Malagasy customary law–to structure management rights and responsibilities in ways assumed to be more recognizable and legitimate-seeming to rural communities. Despite the proliferation of dina in Malagasy CBNRM, little scholarship has examined the form, its history, or the ways in which dina are being used by NGOs, state representatives, Malagasy communities, or other actors. Dr. Brian Klein, an Assistant Professor at UM in the Department of Afro-American and African Studies and the Program in the Environment, has been investigating the role of dina in local-level natural resource management and environmental politics in Madagascar. The goal of our research is to better understand the prevalence, uses, and consequences of dina, as well as what these things might mean for the future of conservation outcomes and community autonomy on the island.
Arts and Humanities
