Neo-Australian landscapes in eastern Madagascar: divergent perspectives on plant invasions, livelihoods, and transformations

Grevillea banksii, a non-native shrubby tree, has in the past five decades expanded to cover hundreds of thousands of hectares in lowland eastern Madagascar, accompanied by other Australian and pan-tropical species.  How should one think about - and manage - these landscapes?  I will present a paper-in-progress based in part on rich field data from two Masters theses that I facilitated at the University of Antananarivo.  After describing the regional landscape context, the paper contrasts perceptions promoted by scientists and administrators (which themselves range from beneficial landscape greening to rampant biological invasion) with perceptions held by local actors (largely positive due to the livelihood opportunity of fuelwood sales; but sometimes also negative due to difficulty of removal, competition with crop and pasture land, and the respiratory health impacts of involvement in charcoal production). 

Le «Bouillon d'idées» est un séminaire proposé par le groupe de recherche «Développement, Sociétés, Environnements», dans lequel les chercheuses et les chercheurs sont invité·e·s à présenter une recherche en cours.

L'entrée est libre. N'hésitez pas à amener votre repas.