Abstract : This paper exhibits the multiple dimensions of the cost of stopping the main driver of deforestation in
Madagascar, slash-and-burn agriculture (tavy). As well as being amajor component of the economic livelihoods
of most local households living at the edge of forests, tavy has been described by anthropologists as an important
cultural practice. In this paper,we showthat stopping tavy does not only entail an economic cost for local households.
The loss of the cultural dimension of tavywould come at an additional “cultural cost” for some. Our results
suggest that a viable cessation of deforestation inMadagascar would require going beyond simple compensation
of the opportunity costs of avoiding deforestation.
