“Whenever I look at a tree, I never see it alone. I see the women collecting firewood, the children playing in its shade, the farmers who read the seasons in its leaves, the elders who remember when the forest was thicker. I’ve spent much of my life studying these human stories around trees, and one thing has become very clear to me: the people who live closest to forests are also their best guardians. Yet they are too often pushed aside, or worse, used in the name of conservation. I don’t believe in protecting trees from communities, but protecting trees with communities – and, whenever possible, by communities themselves. For me, a healthy forest is not just a green canopy on a map; it’s a place where local people have a real voice, real power, and a real share in the benefits that flow from the trees they’ve lived with for generations.”
Sarobidy Rakoto — Environmental Socio-Economist & Forest-Community Governance Researcher
Sarobidy Rakotonarivo is a Malagasy socio-economist and researcher specializing in the human and social dimensions of forest conservation, environmental governance, and rural livelihoods. In 2024 she was honoured for the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents Sub-Saharan Africa Award. She holds a PhD in Environmental & Development Economics (Bangor University & University of Copenhagen), a Master’s in Sustainable Tropical Forestry, and an advanced degree in Forestry and Environment from the University of Antananarivo.
She currently serves as Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Socioeconomics at the École Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques, University of Antananarivo, where she leads the team Mitsilo Research Group. Her work focuses on community-based forest governance, climate-smart agriculture, rural welfare, land tenure, and equitable protected area management — aiming to align conservation efforts with social justice and sustainable livelihoods.
Sarobidy is recognized internationally: she was named among the top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders (2021), became a Young Affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences (2022-2026), and received the TWAS‑Samira Omar Innovation for Sustainability Award in 2022 for her interdisciplinary work balancing biodiversity conservation and community welfare.
Her recent research investigates the true social and economic costs of conservation for rural communities in Madagascar, the drivers of deforestation, the impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods, and how equitable governance models can support both forest preservation and community resilience.
Sarobidy bridges rigorous academic research and grassroots reality. Through fieldwork, participatory methods, policy engagement and capacity-building workshops, she amplifies the voices of forest-edge communities whose lives depend on forests. Her commitment ensures that conservation is not seen only as ecological protection — but as a social pact rooted in fairness, equity, and shared futures.
References
1. Academic profile – Mitsilo Research Group https://mitsilo.org/sarobidy-rakotonarivo/ Biography, mission, community-centered research, forest governance, and livelihoods.
2. University academic record – Bangor University https://research.bangor.ac.uk/en/persons/sarobidy-rakotonarivo/ Detailed academic profile, teaching, research themes, and publication list.
3. ORCID scientific identity https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8032-1431 Index of peer-reviewed publications and research outputs.
4. ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/O-Sarobidy-Rakotonarivo Full list of scientific articles, preprints, datasets, and citation metrics.
5. World Development Article (2017)Qualitative and quantitative evidence on the true local welfare costs of forest conservation in Madagascar https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.009 A landmark study on conservation costs, livelihood impacts, and valuation methods.
7. Scientific Data – Nature (2018) Household economy, forest dependency & opportunity costs of conservation in eastern rainforests of Madagascar https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata2018225 Open-access dataset describing livelihoods, forest dependency and opportunity costs.
8. IDRC Research-in-Action Summary Centering local communities in Madagascar’s forest conservation https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/research-in-action/centering-local-communities-madagascar-s-forest-conservation Field-based synthesis on community rights, policy implications and governance.
9. TWAS Award – Press Release (2022) How to empower forestland peoples https://twas.org/article/how-empower-forestland-peoples Recognition of her work on community rights, equitable conservation and policy.
ARBRES À PALABRES for #dendrophiles edition for Antson’ny tontolo miaina #antsonytontolomiaina
Chapitre 1 – The Guardians #antsonytontolomiaina
Chapter 2 — Trees: histories, symbols, ecological values #antsonytontolomiaina