Southwestern Madagascar is not only one of the “hottest biodiversity hotspots” globally, but also a
food insecurity hotspot with severe levels of poverty and undernourishment. Large parts of the
regional forest have been lost in past decades, and many of the endemic species are at the verge of
extinction. At the same time, the research region is among the most underdeveloped parts of
Madagascar, which is itself one of the poorest countries globally. Thus, there is the dual challenge
of safeguarding the livelihoods of one of the poorest rural communities while preserving the unique
biodiversity. Acknowledgment of this dual challenge gave rise to the SuLaMa project (Sustainable
Land Management in southwestern Madagascar) the present dissertation is a part of. Within
southwestern Madagascar, the SuLaMa project region is confined to the Mahafaly Plateau,
consisting of the coastal littoral in the west and a limestone upland in the east.