Deforestation, Erosion, and Fire
Degradation Myths in the Environmental History of Madagascar
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9293291 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christian A Kull (McGill University Department of Geography 805 Sherbrooke St. W Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2K6), Christian Kull (0000-0002-7516-7898, McGill University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 421-450 |
| Publication date | 2000-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environment and History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0967-3407 • E-ISSN: 1752-7023 |
| Publisher | Liverpool University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3197/096734000129342361 |
| OpenAlex | W1988672623 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 54 |
| References cited | 37 |
Mention of the island nation of Madagascar conjures up images of exotic nature, rampant deforestation, and destructive erosion. Popular descriptions of the island frequently include phrases such as 'ecological mayhem' or 'barren landscape'. This paper compares this common wisdom and conservation rhetoric about the environmental history of Madagascar with the results of recent research by paleoecologists and others. Deforestation and erosion, while very real trends, are exaggerated due to mistaken ideas about pre-settlement forest extent and the eye-catching red soils and erosion gullies. The role of fire, principal tool of landscape change and pasture maintenance, is unnecessarily demonised. Blame is placed on the Malagasy people and problems of poverty and population growth, ignoring economic interests, historical political contexts, community politics, and the potential of the people to manage their resources positively. Finally, drawing from the recent school of thought that recognises the role of narratives, discourses, and representations in the politics of conservation, this paper concludes by illustrating the political nature of the oft-repeated story of environmental degradation in Madagascar
Blame · Deforestation (computer science · Environmental degradation · Geography · Mythology · Narrative · Political ecology · Political science · Politics · Population · Poverty · Rhetoric · Sociology · Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity · Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law · Ecology
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Fifty years of deforestation and forest fragmentation in Madagascar
Combining global tree cover loss data with historical national forest cover maps to look at six decades of deforestation and forest fragmentation in Madagascar
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La nature enfermée ou l’aire protégée comme norme de protection d’un bien commun menacé
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The Philanthropic Gaze
Scale Matters
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Shifting Cultivation and Deforestation in Tropical Africa
Legal Geographies of Catastrophe
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Parks and People
Encountering Development
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Fruit Trees and Family Trees in an Anthropogenic Forest
| Unique citing works | 54 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,25 |
| Citation span | 2002 - 2026 (25) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 51 |