Article (Scientific journals)
Social network analysis of conservation and one health governance in Madagascar
Mahefarisoa, Karine L.; Ratsimbazafy, Hajaniaina A.; Decaestecker, Ellen et al.
2025In Environmental Science and Policy, 171, p. 104132
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Keywords :
Cross-sector collaboration; Environmental governance; Health system governance; Integration; One health; Social network analysis; Stakeholder engagement; Geography, Planning and Development; Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Abstract :
[en] Madagascar, a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot, faces escalating biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease risks. Weak response systems and fragmented governance further exacerbate these threats. This study identifies key conservation and health actors and analyses their connections to understand decision-making and information flow. The findings emphasise the need to integrate One Health into conservation strategies to address interconnected public health and biodiversity challenges. Following the Laumann-Marsden-Prensky framework, a social network analysis (SNA) survey was conducted between March 14 and June 24, 2022. The study involved 30 senior leaders (≥5 years experience) in biodiversity conservation and health in Madagascar. Key network metrics, indegree, outdegree, and eigenvector centrality, identified influential actors, while network density and centralisation assessed structural cohesion. Participants listed collaborators in conservation and health projects and funding sources. The strength of One Health integration and interaction was quantified. Among 287 identified actors, 54.4 % are international entities. SNA shows that foreign organisations dominate collaboration and funding networks in conservation and public health governance, while local government bodies have limited involvement. Only a few stakeholders have effectively integrated the One Health approach into their conservation and health governance practices. These findings highlight a reliance on international actors, primarily due to funding access, with limited local participation. While international support provides crucial resources, greater national and local leadership is essential for the sustainable implementation of One Health. This study provides insights to enhance local involvement in conservation governance.
Disciplines :
Social & behavioral sciences, psychology: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Mahefarisoa, Karine L.  ;  MicrobiomeEcoEvo Unit, Interdisciplinary Research Facility Life Sciences, Engineering & Technology Group, KU Leuven KULAK, Kortrijk, Belgium ; KU Leuven One Health Institute, Leuven, Belgium ; Division Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, Biology Department, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Ratsimbazafy, Hajaniaina A. ;  Systems Ecology and Resource Management Research Unit (SERM), Department of Organism Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles - ULB, Brussels, Belgium ; Dorsch Impact GmbH, Essen, Germany
Decaestecker, Ellen;  MicrobiomeEcoEvo Unit, Interdisciplinary Research Facility Life Sciences, Engineering & Technology Group, KU Leuven KULAK, Kortrijk, Belgium ; KU Leuven One Health Institute, Leuven, Belgium ; Division Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, Biology Department, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Delpy, Leo;  Lille Centre for Sociological and Economic Studies and Research (Clersé), UMR 8019, Université de Lille, Lille, France
Hugé, Jean ;  Systems Ecology and Resource Management Research Unit (SERM), Department of Organism Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles - ULB, Brussels, Belgium ; Department of Environmental Sciences, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, Netherlands ; Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium ; Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Antoine-Moussiaux, Nicolas   ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de gestion vétérinaire des Ressources Animales (DRA) > Biostatistique, économie, sélection animale
Aerts, Raf  ;  KU Leuven One Health Institute, Leuven, Belgium ; Division Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, Biology Department, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
 These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Social network analysis of conservation and one health governance in Madagascar
Publication date :
September 2025
Journal title :
Environmental Science and Policy
ISSN :
1462-9011
eISSN :
1873-6416
Publisher :
Elsevier
Volume :
171
Pages :
104132
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funding text :
Among the 15 health sector stakeholders, 12 demonstrate a strong commitment to the OH approach, including three national institutions (DSV, MSP, and POH) and nine international organisations. The POH is led by the Prime Minister's office and supported by FAO, WHO, WOAH, and UNEP with USAID funding. DSV, WCS, and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI) exhibit the highest eigenvector centrality within the network.Madagascar's environmental governance exemplifies this dynamic. Organisations like the Madagascar National Parks (MNP) operate as private entities, funded by Conservation International, the World Bank, and WWF, with support from international consulting firms such as AHT Group ( Gardner et al., 2018 ). This structure represents Harrison's (2004) concept of \"political post-conditionality\", where external networks redefine sovereignty boundaries by framing and influencing environmental policies, contrasting with earlier direct political conditionality that tied aid to specific reforms ( Harrison, 2004 ). Madagascar's status as a biodiversity hotspot has intensified this external involvement. Extensive donor and NGO engagement has become deeply embedded in national governance structures ( Ralimanana et al., 2022 ). While the WHO interviewee emphasises the \"binding nature of the IHR\" and positions international funding as driving cross-disciplinary approaches, this narrative must be understood in a context of profound structural inequalities in global health governance that may maintain dependency rather than build autonomous capacity. In practice, bilateral donors, international financial institutions, and environmental NGOs collaborate in ways that often relegate the Malagasy government to a secondary role. Global actors such as WWF, Conservation International, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) hold significant influence, creating a governance system heavily dependent on transnational networks that effectively supplant state authority in key environmental decision-making areas.
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