Madagascar

The island of Madagascar, lying just off the coast of Mozambique, is home to more than 10,000 plant species, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet. The natural vegetation ranges from rainforest to grassland to Madagascar's unique Spiny Forest of cactus-like succulent plants. Madagascar has a whole continent's worth of plant diversity packed into one island.

Eighty per cent of Malagasy people rely for their survival on subsistence farming and the country is losing more than 150,000 ha of forest a year because of unsustainable farming techniques. On top of habitat destruction comes the threat of over-exploitation of plants, not just for local use, but in the case of plant groups such as orchids, palms and succulents, for the international horticulture trade. Plants in cultivation are being sourced unsustainably from the wild, putting natural populations at risk.

The rarest species cling on as just single populations of a handful of individuals. This makes them particularly vulnerable to extinction as the next tropical storm or forest fire could destroy their habitat and wipe them out completely.

Find out more

Kew's work in Madagascar

Orchid conservation

Palm conservation

Succulent conservation

Seed collecting

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See also

Search for books about Madagascar at kewbooks.com

Support the Threatened Plants of Madagascar Appeal