Local socio-economic effects of protected area conservation: The case of Maromizaha forest, Madagascar

The vision Madagascar Naturally aimed to triple the size of protected areas in Madagascar from 1.7 million hectares to 6 million hectares before 2008, in order to ensure the safe guarding of Madagascar’s natural heritage and the human well-being that depends on it. In 2008, Maromizaha forest was selected  by the Ministry of Environment and Forests tobecome a New Protected Area where the delegated manager is the Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP). One of GERP’s strategies is to provide support to the livelihoods of the local people around the Maromizaha protected area in order to reduce the dependency on natural resources. During April 2014, GERP organized a rapid socio-economic survey of 70 households across six villages, in order to make a preliminary, comparison and assessment of this development support and its impact on the main income generating activities of the local people, their highest level of formal education in 2008 and 2014, and their thinking about conservation offsetting. The results showed that in 2014, 70% of local people were engaged in agriculture and less than 40% in cattle farming. Some villagers have benefited from pilot development projects organized by financial and environmental organizations. Other local people benefited from other livelihood activities related to the conservation management of the forest. Most participants were aware of the ecosystem services of the forests (94.3%) and the education level has increased from 2008 to 2014,  although even in 2014, 56% of the survey participants were educated only to primary school level; the rate of illiteracy is at 15.6%. We summarize some strengths, weaknesses and recommendations in order to improve the management of the Maromizaha Protected Area

Feel4Diabetes healthy diet score: Development and evaluation of clinical validity

Background: The aim of this paper is to present the development of the Feel4Diabetes Healthy Diet Score and to evaluate its clinical validity. Methods: Study population consisted of 3268 adults (63% women) from high diabetes risk families living in 6 European countries. Participants filled in questionnaires at baseline and after 1 year, reflecting the dietary goals of the Feel4Diabetes intervention. Based on these questions the Healthy Diet Score was constructed, consisting of the following components: breakfast, vegetables, fruit and berries, sugary drinks, whole-grain cereals, nuts and seeds, low-fat dairy products, oils and fats, red meat, sweet snacks, salty snacks, and family meals. Maximum score for each component was set based on its estimated relative importance regarding T2DM risk, higher score indicating better quality of diet. Clinical measurements included height, weight, waist circumference, heart rate, blood pressure, and fasting blood sampling, with analyses of glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Analysis of (co) variance was used to compare the Healthy Diet Score and its components between countries and sexes using baseline data, and to test differences in clinical characteristics between score categories, adjusted for age, sex and country. Pearson''s correlations were used to study the association between changes from baseline to year 1 in the Healthy Diet Score and clinical markers. To estimate reproducibility, Pearson''s correlations were studied between baseline and 1 year score, within the control group only. Results: The mean total score was 52.8 ± 12.8 among women and 46.6 ± 12.8 among men (p < 0.001). The total score and its components differed between countries. The change in the Healthy Diet Score was significantly correlated with changes in BMI, waist circumference, and total and LDL cholesterol. The Healthy Diet Score as well as its components at baseline were significantly correlated with the values at year 1, in the control group participants. Conclusion: The Feel4Diabetes Healthy Diet Score is a reproducible method to capture the dietary information collected with the Feel4Diabetes questionnaire and measure the level of and changes in the adherence to the dietary goals of the intervention. It gives a simple parameter that associates with clinical risk factors in a meaningful manner

La consommation de bois de feu chez les ménages ruraux du district de Toliara II

Valorisation Durable des Formations Sèches Côtières, Toliara, MDG, 17-/09/2018 - 19/09/2018L'importance des ressources forestières dans l'économie agricole est multiple : filet de sécurité en période de soudure, surplus de revenu pour les ruraux. Les ménages pauvres sont vus comme plus dépendants des produits de subsistance, comme le bois de feu ou les plantes sauvages, que les ménagesriches. Pour une gestion durable et intégrée des ressources forestières, une étude des prélèvements en ressources ligneuses s'avère nécessaire. Dans le district de Toliara II, les prélèvements les plus courants en fourrés xérophiles et en forêt dense sèche sont pour le charbon et le bois de feu. Contrairementau charbon, le bois de feu est majoritairement consommé par les ruraux. L'objet de cette étude consiste à évaluer la quantité de bois de feu prélevée par la population rurale du District de Toliara II, pour sa consommation quotidienne. L'enquête menée auprès des ménages ruraux démontre que laquantité de bois de feu consommée est élevée, alors qu'on néglige souvent son importanc