Madagascar
boasts one of the most diverse and exciting eco-systems in the world with many species
waiting to be found. Many of the species of fauna and flora cannot be found
elsewhere, meaning scientists have always got something to look forward to in
terms of new discoveries. It is also, however, one of the poorest countries
which leaves its people struggling to cope with the problems of the changing
modern world.
What is
new then for Madagascar? Firstly, to the fantastic flora – Madagascar has added
to its already complex family of orchid; – with the discovery of new species of
the Cynorkis Thouars orchid (1). The country already has over 170
species of orchid – around 120 of these (1) being indigenous to Madagascar. Due
to the destruction of habitat, despite having only been discovered recently,
plant specialists have already put the new find on the ‘red list’ of plants
which are critically endangered.
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| https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12225-017-9715-4 |
Staying
on the topic of Madagascar’s fantastic flora, it has made the news elsewhere
with the president (Hery Rajaonarimampianina) visiting Kew Gardens for a meeting
with scientists, members of Kew’s specialist team that work on Madagascar,
representatives of the UK government, members of DEFRA and several others. In
this meeting the president explained his vision and plans for Madagascar’s
unique environment and also talked on broader topics such as Global Warming. He
pointed out how Madagascar is home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity (3) and
then went on to highlight his plans to conserve and support it. He highlighted
the same approach as that of MFM – the only way that the environment can be
maintained is to support the population so that they do not need to exploit it.
His words were welcomed as he highlighted the importance of dealing with global
warming and extending protected areas to reduce human impact on the natural
world.
This is
not the only example of Madagascar trying to ‘do its bit’ in the face of world
issues. Recently the European Union (EU) has also been working with Madagascar
to find sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to meet energy needs. The
EU has also helped Madagascar with hydro-electric and solar power projects
which form part of the ‘New Energy Policy’ - partly funded by the EU. (2)
If you
feel that you could help Madagascar, please do consider making a donation. Anything
you give would help to support both the environment and the people of Madagascar. For more information or to make a donation, please see https://moneyformadagascar.org/
(4) WWF
By Matthew Ward
