Deforestation and forest fragments in Madagascar
Those mountains are supposed to be covered in dense forest. They are permanently barren with the exception of 'shredded' (shredded is a legal biotic term - click here) biotic areas along the rivers and streams. The government required 66 feet of a tree line along it's water ways because of tourist interests. A vigorous work of conservation restoration needs to ensue and the United Nations should be advocating with all these countries to return their forests to their natural balance.
Elana Kopel, a keeper at the Dallas Zoo, went to Madagascar on a 16-day Earthwatch Institute expedition to study lemurs and other wildlife.
Madagascar is one of the most environmentally damaged country but permission of their government. The tropical forests are primarily gone and as a result there is less carbon sinks and erodible land. I'll find some references and place them here.
Located off the east coast of Africa, Madagascar has been isolated from other landmasses for more than 160 million years. Consequently, most of Madagascar’s plant and animal species have evolved in long isolation, and many are found nowhere else on the planet. Highly threatened, Madagascar has been classified as one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots. Covering just 2.3 percent of the planet’s surface, hotspots face extreme threats and have already lost 70 percent of their original vegetation....
Ten years ago Friends of the Earth's Andrew Lees died trying to save an idyllic island. The Observer told his story. Now, as miners arrive, Jo Revill asks if he died in vain Sunday August 7, 2005The Observer
One of the world's biggest mining companies has been given permission to open up an enormous mine on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar which will involve digging up some of the world's most unique forest.
The decision has outraged campaigners at Friends of the Earth, who had opposed the plans from the outset. It is all the more poignant because one of their leading directors, Andrew Lees, died 10 years ago in the same forest while investigating the controversial plans for a mine....
One of the world's biggest mining companies has been given permission to open up an enormous mine on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar which will involve digging up some of the world's most unique forest.
The decision has outraged campaigners at Friends of the Earth, who had opposed the plans from the outset. It is all the more poignant because one of their leading directors, Andrew Lees, died 10 years ago in the same forest while investigating the controversial plans for a mine....
March 8, 2006—Sorry, there are no animated zoo creatures here. But conservationists visiting Madagascar's remote Makira rain forest did find amazing wildlife, along with evidence of unexpected invaders. Watch as the researchers trek through unyielding jungle to record and protect the African island's rare animals—and stumble upon an ominous surprise.
Video by "Wild Chronicles," airing on PBS, made possible by National Geographic Mission Programs and WWF and presented by WLIW New York
Video by "Wild Chronicles," airing on PBS, made possible by National Geographic Mission Programs and WWF and presented by WLIW New York
