I paused my PhD for 11 years to help save Madagascar’s seas

## Summary
Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X Ando Rabearisoa worked with local fishers to establish locally managed marine conservation areas that protect fisheries and local incomes in Madagascar. There, inspired by some of her early research on community-based management of natural resources, she worked with fishing communities to create locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), a type of coastal conservation zone that is overseen by the communities that rely on the area’s natural resources. What it’s like fighting racism and sexism in shark science After more than a decade away from doctoral studies, Rabearisoa started a new PhD, this time researching marine conservation at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her latest study, published in 2025, surveyed communities in northeastern Madagascar and found that 95% of respondents preferred LMMAs to conventional marine conservation zones because they give local people better control of fishing rules and restrictions 2 .

## Article Content
Email
Bluesky
Facebook
LinkedIn
Reddit
Whatsapp
X
Ando Rabearisoa worked with local fishers to establish locally managed marine conservation areas that protect fisheries and local incomes in Madagascar.
Credit: Johnson Rakotoniaina
Three years into an ecological economics PhD in France, Ando Rabearisoa made a decision that would change both her life and Madagascar’s coastal ecosystems. In 2009, she abandoned her PhD studies to move back to her home nation of Madagascar. There, inspired by some of her early research on community-based management of natural resources, she worked with fishing communities to create locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), a type of coastal conservation zone that is overseen by the communities that rely on the area’s natural resources. LMMAs offer an alternative to conventional, government-managed marine protected areas, the implementation of which, in low-income countries, can lead to friction with anglers and lack proper enforcement.
From 2009 to 2019, Rabearisoa led the Madagascar marine programme at Conservation International, a non-profit organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, focused on environmental protection. During that time, the number of LMMAs in Madagascar swelled from 33 to 177. Now, scientists are studying how these conservation areas affect people and nature. For example, in Madagascar’s first LMMA, researchers observed a 189% increase in fish biomass over a six-year period
1
.
What it’s like fighting racism and sexism in shark science
After more than a decade away from doctoral studies, Rabearisoa started a new PhD, this time researching marine conservation at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She investigated how the web of LMMAs that she helped to create is affecting fish populations and fisher incomes. Her latest study, published in 2025, surveyed communities in northeastern Madagascar and found that 95% of respondents preferred LMMAs to conventional marine conservation zones because they give local people better control of fishing rules and restrictions
2
.
Madagascar has emerged as a regional model for LMMAs, in part owing to Rabearisoa’s work. In 2024, the nation hosted
East Africa’s first-ever LMMA conference for anglers, conservationists and other stakeholders
from countries such as Kenya and Mozambique. Now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, Rabearisoa spoke to
Nature
about community-based conservation, her decision to resume her PhD studies and the challenges that female scientists face in Madagascar.
When did you first become interested in the environment?
Beginning when I was ten years old, my family and I would go camping in the rainforests of Madagascar. The government had created a series of national parks and my father insisted on taking the family to these brand new reserves. I distinctly remember seeing lemurs, and that made me fall in love with nature.
Why did you leave academia, and why did you return?
I did my master’s degree in ecological economics at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. I wanted to understand not just ecology, but also how to attribute value to the benefits that nature provides.
After finishing my master’s degree, I moved to France for a PhD in ecological economics at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris. I was just 24 years old when I started it and I couldn’t stop thinking about how difficult it is for young women to become professors, especially in Madagascar — where conventional gender roles are still prevalent. If I graduated in six years, I would be 30. I kept doubting whether anyone would want to hire a 30-year-old woman as a professor.
I encourage women to claim their space in astrophysics and beyond
So, I started to apply for jobs. In the third year of my PhD, Conservation International offered me a position as its marine programme manager in Madagascar. I accepted the job and moved back there. I worked for the organization for ten years and it was an incredible experience, but my friends kept urging me to finish my PhD.
Eventually, I applied for a master’s degree at the Coastal Science and Policy Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, which would have served as a refresher for me. But when my adviser saw my CV, he said “I want you to do a PhD”. I accepted the offer, but with one condition: my research would focus on Madagascar’s LMMAs.
The scientific community is finally recognizing that community-based conservation works. During my PhD, I dived into the details of what makes community-based management of fisheries effective, what we can learn when it doesn’t work and how we can improve it.
How did LMMAs first come about in Madagascar?
LMMAs were first implemented in Fiji in the 1990s, when coastal communities created their own sustainable fishing systems. In the early 2000s, some of my colleagues took fishers from Madagascar to Fiji to study its LMMAs. The fishers said that although they didn’t speak the sam

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- During my PhD, I dived into the details of what makes community-based management of fisheries effective, what we can learn when it doesn’t work and how we can improve it.
- Credit: Sidney Opiyo, Coastal Science and Policy, UC Santa Cruz Another important lesson that I learnt is that we must adapt protected areas to the local context.
- Ehrlich obituary: pioneering ecologist who caused controversy by predicting a ‘population bomb’ Obituary 20 MAR 26 AI set to map risks of future climate disasters World View 18 MAR 26 Rethinking AI’s role in survey research: from threat to collaboration Correspondence 17 MAR 26 Jobs Global Talent Recruitment Announcement of the College of Engineering, HZAU Join HZAU's global faculty team to advance research with competitive benefits.

### Areas for Consideration
- I was just 24 years old when I started it and I couldn’t stop thinking about how difficult it is for young women to become professors, especially in Madagascar — where conventional gender roles are still prevalent.
- Ehrlich obituary: pioneering ecologist who caused controversy by predicting a ‘population bomb’ Obituary 20 MAR 26 AI set to map risks of future climate disasters World View 18 MAR 26 Rethinking AI’s role in survey research: from threat to collaboration Correspondence 17 MAR 26 Jobs Global Talent Recruitment Announcement of the College of Engineering, HZAU Join HZAU's global faculty team to advance research with competitive benefits.

### Implications
- Credit: Johnson Rakotoniaina Three years into an ecological economics PhD in France, Ando Rabearisoa made a decision that would change both her life and Madagascar’s coastal ecosystems.
- LMMAs offer an alternative to conventional, government-managed marine protected areas, the implementation of which, in low-income countries, can lead to friction with anglers and lack proper enforcement.
- Now, scientists are studying how these conservation areas affect people and nature.
- Eventually, I applied for a master’s degree at the Coastal Science and Policy Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, which would have served as a refresher for me.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers madagascar, conservation, lmmas topics. Notable strengths include discussion of madagascar. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1482.