Land Competition under Telecoupling: Distant Actors’ Environmental versus Economic Claims on Land in North-Eastern Madagascar

O. Ravaka Andriamihaja, Florence Metz, Julie G. Zaehringer, Manuel Fischer and Peter Messerli
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O. Ravaka Andriamihaja: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Florence Metz: Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Julie G. Zaehringer: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Manuel Fischer: Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Peter Messerli: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: In north-eastern Madagascar, maintenance of biodiversity competes with expansion of land for agriculture and mining. The concept of “telecoupling” provides a framework for analysis of distant actors and institutions that influence local land use decisions. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the extent of telecoupling of land governance in north-eastern Madagascar and a lack of evidence regarding its role in driving land use change and land competition. Using a descriptive Social Network Analysis, we disentangled distant interactions between actors in terms of flows and institutions. Our findings show that the domains of economic and environmental interactions are dominated by actors from different sectors that have claims on the same land but generally do not interact. Distant influences occurring via remote flows of goods, money, and institutions serve to reinforce local land competition. Balancing economic and environmental land claims for more sustainable regional development in north-eastern Madagascar requires collaboration between actors across sectors, scales, and domains.

Keywords: Land system science; land governance; land competition; telecoupling; Social Network Analysis; Madagascar (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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