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Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

The Moore Center for Science at Conservation International is one of the world’s premier conservation research institutes, producing and applying groundbreaking and policy-relevant research to help decision-makers protect nature. To date, Conservation International has published more than 1,100 peer-reviewed articles, many in leading journals including Science, Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

On average, each of our scientific papers is cited more than 45 times by other scholars — a rate exceeding that of any other U.S. conservation organization as well as leading universities.

Here is an archive of our most recent research.

Land Change Modelling to Inform Strategic Decisions on Forest Cover and CO2 Emissions in Eastern Madagascar

Jennifer Hewson, Julie Hanta Razafimanahaka, Timothy Max Wright, Rina Mandimbiniaina, Mark Mulligan, Julia PG Jones, Arnout Van Soesbergen, Andry Andriamananjara, Karyn Tabor, Andriambolantsoa Rasolohery, Herintsitohaina Razakamanarivo, Mieja Razafindrakoto, Andrisoa Rianahary, Tantely Razafimbelo, Ntsoa Ranaivoson, Celia A Harvey

Environmental Conservation, 46, 25-33

November 14, 2018

SummaryDecision-makers need readily accessible tools to understand the potential impacts of alternative policies on forest cover and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to develop effective policies to meet national and international targets for biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and climate change mitigation. Land change modelling can support policy decisions by demonstrating potential impacts of policies on future deforestation and GHG emissions. We modelled land change to explore the potential impacts of expert-informed scenarios on deforestation and GHG emissions, specifically CO2 emissions, in the Ankeniheny–Zahamena Corridor in eastern Madagascar. We considered four scenarios: business as usual; effective conservation of protected areas; investment in infrastructure; and agricultural intensification. Our results highlight that effective forest conservation could deliver substantial emissions reductions, while infrastructure development will likely cause forest loss in new areas. Agricultural intensification could prevent additional forest loss if it reduced the need to clear more land while improving food security. Our study demonstrates how available land change modelling tools and scenario analyses can inform land-use policies, helping countries reconcile economic development with forest conservation and climate change mitigation commitments.

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CITATION

Hewson, J., Razafimanahaka, J. H., Wright, T. M., Mandimbiniaina, R., Mulligan, M., Jones, J. P., … Harvey, C. A. (2018). Land Change Modelling to Inform Strategic Decisions on Forest Cover and CO2 Emissions in Eastern Madagascar. Environmental Conservation, 46(1), 25–33. doi:10.1017/s0376892918000358