relationship between overall biodiversity and number of threatened species should
be strong (Biogeography Hypothesis).
Other hypotheses may be proposed as well. For example, it seems possible that
the number of people in a country or areas of a country are variables that are related
to the pressure on the natural surroundings, i.e. number of threatened species (AsafuAdjaye 2003; Mikkelson 2013).
In which way economic behaviour affects nature is of central importance when
discussing the chance of future conservation strategies. From the influence of
individual behaviour (e.g. Kennedy et al. 2015) to the role of international institutional penetration (e.g. Schofer and Hironaka 2005), researchers try to reveal what
mechanisms produce which effects on the environment. Such analyses usually come
along with some more or less precise advice how to treat the mechanisms unveiled to
Fig. 1 Madagascar is a country with a still growing human population, with an outstanding and
unique biodiversity including high rates of endemism. Many species are threatened with extinction.
The photographs show a market place in Ambovombe and the globally unique thorny scrub
vegetation with a Baobab tree (Adansonia za) in the S of Madagascar (photographed by Carsten
Hobohm)
198
T. Gaens et al.
be strong (Biogeography Hypothesis).
Other hypotheses may be proposed as well. For example, it seems possible that
the number of people in a country or areas of a country are variables that are related
to the pressure on the natural surroundings, i.e. number of threatened species (AsafuAdjaye 2003; Mikkelson 2013).
In which way economic behaviour affects nature is of central importance when
discussing the chance of future conservation strategies. From the influence of
individual behaviour (e.g. Kennedy et al. 2015) to the role of international institutional penetration (e.g. Schofer and Hironaka 2005), researchers try to reveal what
mechanisms produce which effects on the environment. Such analyses usually come
along with some more or less precise advice how to treat the mechanisms unveiled to
Fig. 1 Madagascar is a country with a still growing human population, with an outstanding and
unique biodiversity including high rates of endemism. Many species are threatened with extinction.
The photographs show a market place in Ambovombe and the globally unique thorny scrub
vegetation with a Baobab tree (Adansonia za) in the S of Madagascar (photographed by Carsten
Hobohm)
198
T. Gaens et al.