Madagascar

Avenue of the Baobabs, an area near Morondava protected since 2007, is all that remains of a once thick forest cleared for farmland. Growing 80 feet (24 meters) or more, baobabs are valued for fruit and bark.

Can you imagine a whole forest of these trees? We'll be talking about Madagascar a bit in the next lecture and National Geographic has an article about this unique country in this month's edition. For those not taking a trip to the dentist or a grandparents house, you can read it online: Madagascar's Pierced Heart

The island’s geographic isolation created a wonderland of biological richness. Now population pressures and political turmoil speed the plunder of its rosewood, minerals, and gems.

Don't miss the photo gallery. Go read the article, it's very well written and the photographs are, as usual, amazing. It makes me feel bad for letting my subscription to National Geographic lapse. And very pessimistic for the future of Madagascar.