**5. Conclusions**

This study evaluated opportunities from forest conservation projects to address local development needs by pursuing climate objectives in Madagascar. Local and project-level perspectives of the benefits and challenges of two case study projects—focused on mangrove reforestation and REDD+ conservation—were assessed through the use of a multi-benefit framework. We observed that enhancements of local adaptive capacity, mitigation and development can be delivered by projects to local communities by investing in coordinated e fforts across levels. This enables e ffective delivery of co-benefits across the three dimensions in projects originally designed for forest conservation.

For a multi-objective, holistic operational focus to be sustained, adequate monitoring of project benefits onto locally identified challenges must be ensured. Pursuit of locally-relevant strategies allows meaningful long-term engagemen<sup>t</sup> of multiple stakeholders. Key enablers in achieving a holistic vision include planning long-term funding and operational modalities at the outset of project development, and establishing monitoring and reporting systems that evaluate underreported co-benefits to inform funders and communities involved. Climate mitigation benefits remain poorly quantified, and uncertainty surrounding carbon markets results in a lack of capacity to enable realization of carbon benefits. Monitoring needs to be accompanied by an adequate multi-stakeholder collaborative strategy, with a view to translate short-term benefits into long-term holistic transformative impacts, through pursuit of an integrated landscape-scale approach to conservation and development. Alignment of community needs and objectives with project and donor commitments is a pre-requisite to enable the development of a theory of change that systematically links project deliverables, outputs, outcomes and impacts over time. Knowledge co-production enables the theory of change to be grounded in locally-identified priorities, with a view to strengthening the shared understanding and synergies among multiple stakeholders. These findings are transferable to internationally-led programs which aim to integrate climate and development dimensions into conservation across sub-Saharan Africa, particularly those pursuing job creation and ecological restoration and rehabilitation.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/5/157/s1, Supplementary Material 1: List of interview questions: policy makers, scientists and academia, Supplementary Material 2: List of interview questions: local workers and project beneficiaries.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, N.F., L.C.S., A.J.D. and C.H.Q.; Formal analysis, N.F., S.A., L.C.S. and A.J.D.; Funding acquisition, L.C.S., A.J.D. and C.H.Q.; Investigation, N.F. and H.L.T.R.; Methodology, N.F.; Project administration, A.J.D.; Supervision, L.C.S., A.J.D. and C.H.Q.; Writing—original draft, N.F.; Writing—review & editing, S.A., L.C.S., A.J.D. and C.H.Q. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council's Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP), gran<sup>t</sup> number: ES/K006576/1.

**Acknowledgments:** We thank the sta ff of Eden Projects, Wildlife Conservation Society, the interpreters Max and Eloise, and the local communities involved with both projects for their exceptional cooperation and logistical support provided on the ground. Special thanks to Larissa for the invaluable assistance and love o ffered in the field, and for constantly raising intellectually challenging questions that have helped shaping the research. Lindsay Stringer acknowledges the Royal Society as she holds a Royal Society Wolfson research merit award.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
