Disscussion with Monsieur Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Europe And Foreign Affairs

At the request of the Minister during a visit to Madagascar in late February, a meeting was organized by the French Embassy in Antananarivo to discuss with individuals working in the private sector some critical questions concerning the advancement of conservation programs on Madagascar. Claude-Anne Gauthier, the national representative of the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, invited Steve Goodman to take part in the meeting. The questions revolve around several themes: 1) the urgency in the overall preservation of the environment and biodiversity, 2) do local public policies respond to the needs, and 3) how to remedy the shortcomings identified.

Because Madagascar has been an island for tens of millions of years, many of the plants and animals that live there are found nowhere else.