Talks Open on Saving Madagascar’s Forests
An international conference aimed at saving Madagascar’s endangered forest environment opened in the Indian Ocean island’s capital Monday.
The nine-day parley, which Britain’s Prince Philip is attending as president of the World Wildlife Fund, will seek to help the Madagascar government draft a strategy to end severe deforestation and soil erosion.
The uncontrolled burning of forests to clear land for cultivation has resulted in great loss of farm acreage and has put in jeopardy the government’s plans to make Madagascar self-sufficient in food, specialists say. In addition, the lemur, a primate distantly related to man, is in danger of extinction as a result of the destruction of habitat.
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