Madagascar is home to one of the world's greatest concentration of biodiversity--but that biodiversity is also among the most threatened on the planet. For decades, conservationists from the developed world have been working to protect those riches, for the earth and for the people of Madagascar. This diary from the late Alison Jolly, who was one of the leading figures in that movement, captures the successes and failures of those efforts, as well as the complicated, fundamental questions that they raise.

Offering a rich account of the lives of people who live on Madagascar, and the...