Beyond the Lens of Conservation: Malagasy and Swiss Imaginations of One Another (Environmental Anthropology and Ethnobiology, 20)

The global agenda of Nature conservation has led to the creation of the Masoala National Park in Madagascar and to an exhibit in its support at a Swiss zoo, the centerpiece of which is a mini-rainforest replica. Does such a cooperation also trigger a connection between ordinary people in these two far-flung places? The study investigates how the Malagasy farmers living at the edge of the park perceive the conservation enterprise and what people in Switzerland see when looking towards Madagascar through the lens of the zoo exhibit. It crystallizes that the stories told in either place have almost nothing in common: one focuses on power and history, the other on morality and progress. Thus, instead of building a bridge, Nature conservation widens the gap between people in the North and the South. List of illustrations Acknowledgements/Fisaorana Notes on text Introduction Part I. Chapter 1. A virtual tour through Little Masoala ; Chapter 2. Intention and perception ; Chapter 3. Zooming in on morality ; Chapter 4. A kind of people ; Chapter 5. The coconut schema ; Extract from 'Marrakech' by George Orwell Part II. Chapter 6. Living with the Masoala National Park ; Chapter 7. The banana plant and the moon ; Chapter 8. The island of the wanderer ; Chapter 9. Who are 'they'? ; Chapter 10. Historical reflections Conclusions.