Since the arrival of people for the first time on the island of Madagascar at about 500 A.D., there have been a startling series of environmental changes: all of the island's largest native animal species -- primates, birds, land tortoises and a pygmy hippopotamus -- have become extinct, forests have been reduced in extent, other areas of natural vegetation degraded and there have been massive increases in erosion and water run-off. This interdisciplinary project is an attempt to understand the causes of this long history of environmental degradation, and in particular to find out which precise human actions may be responsible. The research is of relevance to other studies of the past -- paleoecological, paleontological, and archaeological, but it is also important as a guide to future action. The results will be of critical value to those analysts seeking to halt the ecological degradation in Madagascar and other areas of Africa and the tropics, who need a solid base from which to prepare effective environmental policies and programs.
