Apr 21 2008
Madagascar and the environment
I don’t know too much about Madagascar as an African country. In fact, I’m sure most people think very little of this beautiful island when they think of the continent.
The first thing I learned about Madagascar related to nature. It’s the home of some of the most wonderful and vibrant species in the world. And if anyone has younger siblings, or used to watch PBS in the day, you might remember the show Zoboomafoo - he was a lemur from Madagascar.
The country is known for it’s biodiversity — which researchers hail as unique. However, according to this blog entry, that biodiversity is at the expense of the country’s people.
While the country is one of the top three “hot spots” for biodiversity, its people are some of the poorest. It’s also considered the most environmentally challenged. Out of poverty, many Malagasy are destroying the forests and the animals that are found no where else in the world.
In 2002, Madagascar was listed as the eleventh poorest country in the world, and an estimated 75% of the island population lived below the poverty line. Most of the children in its villages don’t go to school.
A lot has been done to save the environment. And a lot of promises have been made to save its people. But can both be saved equally and successfully?
