Madagascar has many different sights and landforms to see. Madagascar also has very many problems. They face deforestation and habitat destruction, agricultural fires, erosion and soil degradation, and introduction of alien species. A tall, narrow escarpment runs along Madagascar's eastern coast, and the island's one remaining tropical rainforest is located here. Along the west coast of the island swamps of mangroves give way to deep bays. Moving inland, the central highlands are punctuated by grassy, deforested hills bordering rice-growing valleys. Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of southern Africa, east of Mozambique. It is the fourth largest island in the world. The highest point is Maromokotro, in the Tsaratanana Massif region in the north of the island, at 2,876 metres. …show more content…
Madagascar is a very small area with only 24.89 million people living in it. Madagascar is known for its strange animals and beautiful forests, much of the country has suffered bad environmental damage. Many of the island's rainforests have been cut down while valuable topsoil important for growing crops disappears due to erosion. Because Madagascar is among the world's poorest countries, people's day to day survival is dependent upon natural resource use. Most Malagasy never have an option to become a doctor, computer programmer, factory worker, or secretary; they must live off the land that surrounds them, making use of whatever resources they can find. Their poverty costs the country and the world through the loss of the island's endemic biodiversity. Madagascar is a very poor country, they have a low population so therefore they don't have as much money as other countries do. They can’t afford to buy the goods they need to support their
When many hear about a lemur, they immediately think of the movie Madagascar and the fun loving role that is played by the lemur King Julien; similarly, when hearing the name Madagascar, many think of the land of the lemurs. However, what would happen if there were no more lemurs? This is a harsh but readily approaching reality of Madagascar today. Lemurs are known as the world’s most endangered mammals, and specifically the Simpona, otherwise known as the Silky Sifaka lemur, is critically endangered. If treatments of Madagascar’s habitat, specificity the small mountainous area of northeastern Madagascar where the Simpona lemur reside, continue being treated as they are today, this will not only lead to the complete extinction of this rare Lemur, but it will also affect the economic standing in Madagascar as a whole. Therefore, it is vital to recognize the solutions and act on them in order to prevent these devastating occurrences.
Of all of the issues that effect the planet Earth from a Global Change standpoint, one of the most visible and highly publicized is the issue of rainforest destruction. The loss of this emerald on the planet's crown will end life as we know it, if something is not done...
Deforestation is the clearing of a forest and/or cutting down of trees for human benefits such as agriculture, wood exports, etc. Deforestation is the cause of numerous environmental impacts such as habitat loss, flooding and soil erosion. It can also cause climate change, by reducing the amount of rainfall and changing the amount of sunlight reflected from Earth’s surface and increases the risk of forest . Tree growth is important for biodiversity because they absorb carbon dioxide which is a harmful greenhouse gas . However, since deforestation reduces natural carbon sinks, it disrupts the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air causing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air to increase. This poses a serious threat since carbon dioxide traps the sun’s heat and radiated light inside the earth’s atmosphere. So, with the increase in carbon dioxide more heat is trapped and thus adding to the effects of global warming. Among the many places where deforestation takes place, Amazon seems to be one of the most affected ones. More than 20 percent of it is already gone, and much more of it is severely threatened due to deforestation . It is estimated that the Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year .
Howes, Oliver. "Environmentally friendly health care begins in Madagascar." The Lancet. February 21, 1998: 577.
Madagascar lies in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa. The world's fourth-largest island, it is twice the size of Arizona. The country's low-lying coastal area gives way to a central plateau. The once densely wooded interior has largely been cut down. (Infoplease, 2012)
Madagascar is known to the world as the Big Red Island at the end of the earth. It is separated form the African continent by the Mozambique Channel. According to the various sources I have read and reviewed it is the forth largest Island in the world. Madagascar is divided in to three regions the central highlands, the east coast, and the west coast. The people of Madagascar however are very poor; as a matter of fact it has been ranked by the World Bank as being among the 13 poorest countries in the world. The country is so deeply in dept that the International Monetary Fund has given it the lowest possible rating, on par with Zaire. Education and heath indicators, including literacy rates and life expectancy are at or below average. According to the National Institute for Statistics, over 70% of the population lived blow the poverty line in 2003. Agricultural productivity is low. Farmers relay on rely on traditional farming practices, often including slash and burn and adoption of new technologies occurs but slowly. Domestic markets function poorly and links to international markets are weak. Madagascar's economy posted a strong recovery in 2003 following a severe economic deterioration due to the eight-month political crisis in 2002. Growth has slowed in 2004, and the economy has suffered from two cyclones, substantial depreciation of the Malagasy franc, and rising prices for the petroleum and rice on the world market during the year.
The rainforests of Madagascar is home to many different animals. One of the animals that live in the forests of Madagascar is the lemur. 1 Lemurs live in high in the treetops. They spend most of their time in the trees and they get everything that they need from the trees such as food and shelter. Other mammals also call the rainforest home. 1 Mammals such as the fossa, mongoose, and tenrec live in rainforests as well. The fossa hunts for it’s food in the trees. The mongoose hunts among the brush. The tenrec shelters in the trees or among the
Brazil holds the global warming issue in the palms of its hands and the government of the world’s fifth-largest economy doesn’t seem to care. A recent article featured on usatoday.com states that the destruction of the Amazon rainforest rose 28% from August 2012 to July 2013 after 4 straight years of decline (Sibaja, 2013). I’m sure this may surprise some people because of the widespread concern of global warming and the affect it may have on future generations, but I don’t think the Brazilian government cares or is going to care unless another global superpower (France, Germany, China, United Kingdom, or the United States) presents some form of regulation and oversight to minimalize the emission of carbon dioxide.
Deforestation is fast becoming one of the world’s worst environmental/geographical occurring disasters known to mankind, and is due to humankind’s greed, ignorance and carelessness when considering the future of our environment.
There are four main types of political causes for deforestation in Indonesia; Governmental, Economical, and international influence and policies.
The Amazon rainforest is perhaps the richest collection of plant and animals diversity in the world. It recycles rainfall from coastal regions to the continental interior, providing water for Brazil’s inland agriculture. Big industries like Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, and Cargill have established industrial soy plantations in Brazil that are taking over large plots of land in the Amazon rainforest (Food for Thought). Soy has been popularized in the past decade as a healthy protein substitute for the restricted diets of vegetarians and vegans. In the past 40 years, soybean production has increased by 500% (Soy Benefits). International demand for the soybean has been on the rise, and with it comes an increase in deforestation and environmental degradation.
Deforestation, defined by biologist Charles Southwick as "the destruction of forests; may involve clear-cutting or selective logging" (p. 365), is a predominantly human-driven process that is dramatically altering ecosystems worldwide. "Clear-cutting" involves the indiscriminant removal of every single plant and tree species from within a selected area. The other major process of deforestation, "selective logging," focuses removal efforts on only specific, predetermined tree species within a chosen area. The statistics gathered about human deforestation over time are considerable, and they can be somewhat controversial. Depending on the source and the location selected, the magnitude of deforestation varies. Southwick estimates that, approximately 10,000 years ago, 6.2 billion hectares (23.9 million square miles) of forest existed on earth (p. 117). That figure is equivalent to 45.5% of the earth's total land. He further estimates that, by 1990, this amount had declined 30%, with only 4.3 billion hectares of forest remaining (p. 117). Southwick also acknowledges other estimates that place the total amount of deforestation between 50% and 75% (p. 117). NASA has similar deforestation statistics that confirm these trends. According to their website, 16.5% of the Brazilian Amazon forests have been destroyed. They also note similar magnitudes of deforestation in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), despite the significantly smaller total area of forest within these countries. These grim figures are somewhat tempered by the NASA finding that, over the past ten years, the deforestation rate has declined from 6,200 square miles per year to 4,800 square miles per year. Though this trend is n...
With this Individuals perform local and regional survey’s as well as use empirical knowledge in order to estimate the vast number of species inhabiting the Amazon ranging from 3 million to 100 million species. With the uncertainty of just how many species are accounted for and the impacts made upon the ecosystem, some ecologists differ with respect to the harmful impacts of biodiversity. Some of the assumptions made regarding this uncertainty include estimates of potential future extinctions as mere estimated guesses, as well as an impracticality to apply an ‘island extinction model’ to a vastly large ecosystem such as that of the Amazon. This school of thought suggests that species loss is proportional to its given surrounding area. Islands provide a greater hostile environment, as they are surrounded by water and therefore certain needs are limited. In contrast, the Amazon forest provides a large ecosystem and variety of resources, therefore mass species extinction is not a legitimate threat. Despite this conflicting perspective the fact remains that the Amazon forest is continuing to be developed, with natural resources extracted and the ecosystems disruption at an exponentially increasing rate, the risk of species diminished resources may result in displacement or
Over the past few decades, Madagascar’s life expectancy at birth and expected years of school have both been rising, but Gross national income (GNI) per capita has been falling. (3) Madagascar’s Economic situation is that of a developing nation with opportunity. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was at $958 in 2008 with 67.83% of the population living below $1.25 per day. (4) The total GDP in 2010 was $20.73 billion, with a growth rate of 1.5%. (1) Madagascar has a population of 21,926,221 (July 2011 est.) and the distribution of wealth is significantly divided. The lowest 10% of the country receives only 2.6% of the income, while the highest 10% earns 41.5%. (1) The remaining percentage of income is believed to be in the hands of the top 20% of the population. This large division in income distribution is a key reason for the country being listed as developing. Madagascar has many industries including: meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum and tourism. (1) Agriculture accounts for more than one-fourth of the GDP and employs 80% of Madagascar’s population. However, deforestation has led to erosion which has fueled serious concerns over well being of agriculture industries. A 50% drop in the tourist industry along with political turmoil has caused ...
Deforestation is the amputation of trees from forest areas more swiftly than they can be replanted or regenerate naturally. The fact that trees play an incredibly momentous part in stabilising climate, atmospheric composition and soil structure, removing trees rapidly becomes a major problem. There are numerous reasons behind the felling of trees by mankind. The Amazon basin is a prime example of humans exploiting rainforests. Within this tropical rainforest lie a vast variety of tree species, with many uses, giving humans even more reason to exploit this area.