Using Artificial Intelligence to Prevent Deforestation in Madagascar

Clear-cutting forests for valuable timber is a serious problem in Madagascar. The trade of illegally collected and extracted timber is a multibillion-dollar industry motivating the aggressive deforestation. Clear-cutting is known to have significant and long-lasting effect on the carbon content of forest soil. Despite the need to protect forests from harmful practices like clear-cutting, many forest protection organizations are vastly understaffed and underfinanced. In order to address this problem, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC), have teamed up with the nonprofit organization, Alliance Vohoary Gasy in Madagascar. After converting the available resources relating to deforestation to quantified parameters, researchers developed algorithms to allocate resources in order to optimize prevention of deforestation. The algorithm has proven to be more effective than random resource allocation, which many would argue demonstrates its merit as a resource-allocation strategy. In my opinion, this is an excellent start, but comparing the algorithm’s results to the allocations decisions actually made is a more realistic metric. Regardless of if the policies in place are more or less effective than random selection, the goal of the algorithm is to make more effective decisions than the human counterpart, not pure chance.  Hopefully work such as this continues and the rate of deforestation will decrease in the near future.

The Linguistic Origins of Malagasy and Convergent Research that Sheds Light on the Origins of Madagascar’s Original Indonesian Settlers - Maya Lorey

I did my previous blog post on the mystery of who the original Indonesian settlers of Madagascar were, focusing specifically on recent mtDNA analysis suggesting that the island was colonized by about 30 women in 830 AD. While researching the linguistic origins of Malagasy a few days later, I stumbled upon some cutting edge lexicostatistical analysis that sheds more light on the original colonization event and identity of Madagascar’s colonizers.
Let’s start with some basic information about about Malagasy, the official language of Madagascar. There are about 13 million first language speakers of Malagasy today, and while there are 23+ dialects, they are almost all mutually intelligible (70-90% lexical similarity). Malagasy is a member of the Austronesian Language Family, more specifically, part of the East Barito Group of the Malayo Polynesian Branch. Its closest relative is Ma’anyan, which is spoken today in inland southeastern Kalimantan by a small population of Dayak. The two languages share 45% of their basic vocabulary and are more closely related to each other than they are to any other languages. The remarkable similarity between Malagasy and Ma’anyan—first officially diagrammed by linguist Otto Christian Dahl in 1951—lead many researchers to postulate that that the Indonesian ancestors of the Malagasy people sailed from the southeastern region of Kalimantan where Ma’anyan is spoken today. As mentioned in my previous post, this hypothesis is challenged by the reality that the community has thus far offered no archaeological, ethnographic, or historical evidence for maritime tradition during the range of time Madagascar was most certainly settled. It is plausible that sailors and ships of the Srijava empire, a maritime and commercial empire centered on Sumatra, could have reached Madagascar. The Buddhist empire traded with China and India, controlled the strait of Malacca, and was powerful between the 7th and 13th centuries. The Srivijaya spoke proto-Malay. Tellingly, the Malagasy words for compass points, wind, sea, boats and other nautical/directional terms are all Malay loan words. The Malagasy orientation system, which is defined by fixed cardinal points, is also typical of Malay and Javanese maritime orientation systems and distinctly un-Bornean. This may suggest that whoever was captaining the vessel that reached Madagascar was indeed a Srijava sailor (and his crew). Given the small founding population of 30 women, who likely would not have been aboard a trading vessel, some have postulated that an errant Srijava slave ship carrying Bornean Ma’anyan speaking peoples wrecked on Madagascar. Others, who favor the idea that Madagascar was settled in waves, believe that the linguistic composition of Malagasy reflects multiple different “founding populations”. In 2012, researchers (Serva et al.) used new quantitative methodology that can find the kinship relationships among languages to analyze 23 dialects of Malagasy in addition to Malay and Ma’anyan. They were primarily looking to find more evidence about whether there was one founding population of Madagascar or many, and if there was only one founding population, as suggested by the recent mtDNA analysis, when and where on Madagascar they landed. The major findings are as follows:
 1.All of the dialects have almost the same lexical distance from Malay to distance from Ma’anyan ratio. This indicates that the underlying linguistic makeup is the same for all of the dialects and therefore that they all originated from the same founding population. These findings suggest that there was only one Indonesian founding population, made up of people speaking some mix of Malagasy and Malay – i.e there were no waves of migration to the island. These findings are consistent with the findings of Cox et. al (mtDNA analysis).
 2.The variance in the dialects suggests that the landing in Madagascar occurred around 650 AD. This is slightly earlier than Cox et al.’s estimate of 830 AD, but not too far off.
 3.They used an incredibly complicated algorithm to estimate the “linguistic homeland” of Malagasy. In essence, it draws upon the basic premise that the homeland of a biological species or language group corresponds to the current area of greatest diversity; “for each language variant a diversity index is calculated as the average of the proportions between linguistic and geographical distances from the given language variant and to each of the other language variants.” The model suggests that the initial landing occurred between Mahanoro and Ambovobe, where Farafanga is (southeastern coast of the island).
 4.The authors point out that there is some unexpected supporting evidence for this landing location. In 1883, after Mount Krakatoa erupted, pumice washed ashore on Madagascar between Farafanga and Mahanoro—right where the linguistic analysis puts the landing area. During WWII, wreckage from ships that had been sailing between Java and Sumatra washed up in the same location. This suggests that at certain times of year, there is an ocean current connecting Sumatra and southeastern Madagascar. I am looking further into this now, and wonder if currents have changed since 650-830 AD.
 In conclusion—there are still so many questions! One last interesting point: The Srivijaya empire was Buddhist, and then subject to much Hindu influence. The Malagasy are neither Buddhist nor Hindu. Neither are the Ma’anyan speaking Dayak, who are known for ancestor worship and elaborate funeral rituals… sound familiar?

- Maya Lorey

On the Multitudes of Tiger beetles and the Prospects of Capturing One

Tiger beetles, subfamily Cicindelinae, are the fourth richest fauna in the world. There are 203 species on the island of Madagascar alone, as of 2003, when the Natural History of Madagascar was published, so there may be even more species known today. The most remarkable statistic about these beetles, however, is that only two of those 203 species are non-endemic. The other 201 are entirely and gloriously all Madagascar’s creations. New Zealand and New Caledonia, for comparison, host 14 species and 16 species, respectively. Indonesia, India and Brazil host comparable numbers of species but lower levels of endemism.

Three-quarters of Madagacar’s tiger beetles subfamily consist of two genera, Pogonostoma and Physodeutera. Beetles in both are typically forest-dwelling, while Pogonostoma spp. are tree-dwelling to point of being arboreal as lemurs. Larvae burrow under the periderm of woody branches over which adults spiral to and fro in ceaseless pursuit of prey. The larvae of Physodeutera spp. in contrast, are more elusive, possibly beneath the ground surface. Adult Physodeutera also inhabit more reachable regions, often dappled forest trails or mossy stepping stones crossing streams. We might encounter quite a few in the northeast, the region of greatest species richness, where 92 species are known.

But I wouldn’t count on catching one without practice. They’re may not seem all that fast to us, at about 5 mph. However, if the racetrack were leveled and a tiger beetle (typically 4.75-25 mm long) were to be regrown with a human’s size, you would have to run something on the order of 480 miles per hour to keep up…that’s approximately 2/3 the speed of sound!

Source: F. Cassola, Coleoptera: Cicindelidae – Tiger Beetles, S. M. Goodman, J. P. Benstead, The Natural History of Madagascar (2003), 669.

(-Emma)

A Sweeter Choice- Joanna Langner

A Sweeter Choice: synthetic perfumes, while unpopular, are better for the environment

            This article really caught my attention because it challenges my own thoughts on greener products. I always used to think that using the all-natural choice would be better for the environment, but after reading his article I realize that there is a lot more to consider.

            A woman named Fanny Rakotoarivelo works as a biologist in Madagascar. One of her jobs is to extract scents from flowers using a tool called a “headspace” that fills a bag with scented air. This scented air is then flown across the world to a company called Symrise in Germany. Here, scientists work to remake the scent that is sent to them.

            Conservation organizations have studied this mechanism of making perfume or “nature in a bottle” and have decided that it is much more environmentally friendly than tapping the plants themselves.

            This topic gets even more complicated when vanilla is added into the equation. Scientists were able to recreate the scent in 1874 called vanillin. Vanilla is considered to be the “black gold” of Madagascar because, as you have read from other people’s reviews of other articles, Madagascar supplies half of the world’s vanilla flavor and fragrance.

            Symrise buys its vanilla from partner farms that are domestically owned. Something I found very shocking was how labor intensive vanilla is. The article claims that, “About 1kg (2.2lbs) of vanilla requires extraction from 500kg (1,102lbs) of vanilla pods and hand pollination of approximately 40,000 flowers by workers wielding needles – most often women who are paid per stamen.”

            Because there have been many issues in the vanilla market, perfumers are searching for plants in Madagascar that smell good and have the potential to be grown on a wider or even global scale.

            Although there has been a move towards using other plants, there has also been a move towards using cheap synthetic smells. This move is not only because synthetics are cheap and easy to make, but also because they are more ecologically sound and are better for people who have allergies.

            One example of this is the use of sandalwood. Using this in its natural form is destroying forests in India, which is why many companies exclusively use the synthetic form.

            Natural materials are still a vital industry, and one of the issues in the market for synthetic perfumes is that they are less popular because more people are moving towards trying to use all natural products. Education is something that could help a lot of people better understand how to lead a greener life when it comes to perfumes and other similar materials.

Here is the link! http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/may/23/perfume-synthetic-sustainability-vanilla-madagascar

-       Jo Langner 

Madagascar World Voice Debuts

Madagascar World Voice is a $12 Million effort to construct a radio antenna on Madagascar. World Christian Broadcasting’s efforts to construct the antenna took a decade to succeed. Numerous factors including cyclones, vandalism, manufacturing delays, and economic downturns all contributed to the delayed completion of the project. Churches of Christ and individual Christian donors funded the project. The goal of constructing an antenna on Madagascar is to provide faith-based programming to people who would otherwise not be exposed to the Christian faith. Madagascar World Voice began broadcasting on March 27^th. It’s daily broadcast consists of 13 hours of content in Arabic, English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Russian. From its strategic position in Madagascar, the antenna is able to broadcast content to Africa, India, and the Middle East, in addition to most of the Americas and Europe. Combined with KNLS—a station in Alaska, which reaches Russia, China, and the Pacific Rim—World Christian Broadcasting reaches approximately 3 billion people.

-MadaMike (Michael)

The Vanilla Bean Problem

In the past 12 Months, the price for vanilla has more than tripled. This price spike should be a fantastic boost to Madagascar's economy, but is in fact threatening the entire agricultural sector. Agriculture drives approximately one fourth of the Madagascar's GDP, and accounts for nearly 70% of the labor force. The threat to the agriculture of Madagascar comes in when farmers try to meet the growing demand by cutting corners in vanilla production. In an attempt to increase the number of harvests, some farmers are harvesting vanilla beans before they are fully ripe. In addition, some farmers have been harvesting unripe vanilla and then vacuum sealing the produce in order to sell it when other supplies run low and prices soar. In order to protect the brand of Madagascar vanilla, the government has clamped down on vanilla sales and prevents the export of unripe or vacuum-sealed vanilla. A surprising facet to the growing issue of the vanilla price rise is the use of vanilla to launder money smugglers get for selling rosewood. Rosewood is a highly desirable wood used in furniture and musical instruments, and after smugglers sell a load of rosewood, they can transform it into a legitimate income by purchasing and reselling vanilla. The battle over vanilla in Madagascar is far from over, and the next few months in solving the problems of the trade will have long-lasting consequences for the economy of Madagascar.

 -MadaMike (Michael)

Most information from this article was sourced from : http://www.commodities-now.com/news/agriculture-and-softs/21351-vanilla-bean-shortage-leaves-a-bitter-taste.html

e (Michael)

Who were the original settlers of Madagascar - Maya (warning, long post)

While linguistic, DNA, archeological and ethnographic analysis has all confirmed that the indigenous Malagasy people are descendants of mixed eastern African and Indonesian/southeast Asian ancestry, how exactly the island was originally settled has remained a scientific and historical mystery. We do know that specific African and Indonesian DNA lineages are common to all the Malagasy ethnic groups screened to date, which suggests that the African and Indonesian populations mixed very early in the history of Madagascar. The first written records confirming civilization on Madagascar do not appear in the historical record until 1165, when Arab geographer ad-Idrisi mentioned the island and its people in his work. Researchers have hypothesized that Madagascar might have been formally colonized by people of the Srivijaya Empire, which was centered on the island Sumatra of Indonesia, and included modern Java and Malaysia. The empire was powerful in southeastern Asia between the 7th and 13th centuries, and controlled maritime trade in the region. Malagasy contains loan words from Javanese and Malay, as well as Javanese and Malay modified Sanskrit, connections that support the Srivijaya colonization hypothesis. Linguistically, however, Malagasy’s closest relative is Ma’anyan, a language of the Bornean southeastern Barito River valley. This presents a slight puzzle, because today the speakers of Ma’anyan live in an inland region that “offers little ethnographic or historical evidence for any sort of maritime tradition.”

 In the late 2000s, an international group of researchers lead by molecular biologist Murray Cox performed extensive mtDNA analysis and created a genetic model of the initial settlement of Madagascar, shedding more light on one of the greatest remaining mysteries of human expansion. Cox et al. screened 2,745 Indonesians from 12 islands of the archipelago. They found a low frequency of the Malagasy’s ancestral Polynesian motif (mtDNA haplotype B4a1a1) in Indonesia today (2%). They also found two additional mutations in Malagasy Polynesian motif, which occurred in every person carrying the Polynesian motif. They called this the Malagasy motif. Of the 2% of Indonesians carrying the Polynesian motif, none carried the two mutations that categorize the Malagasy motif. The researchers’ statistical simulation model suggests that Madagascar was settled around 830 AD, which was also the height of the Srivijaya Empire. The island was settled by approximately 30 women, 93% of whom had Indonesian ancestry (mtDNA analysis only traces female lineages, so it is assumed that there were also some number of men). While this may seem like a very small number, researchers estimate that New Zeeland was settled by about 70 women. The small number of original settlers, and the fact that there were 30 women, suggests that the island was not officially colonized by maritime traders, who were male. The female presence also draws into question the hypothesis that an Indonesian long distance trading vessel got off course and wrecked on Madagascar. Perhaps the model actually raises more questions than answers, such as when the Indonesians mixed with peoples of eastern African descent, and how it is that Malagasy genetics suggest that hat 30 women founded the island.

 Check out the 2012 research paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. for more details:

 Cox, M. P., Nelson, M. G., Tumonggor, M. K., Ricaut, F., & Sudoyo, H. (2012). A small cohort of Island Southeast Asian women founded Madagascar. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1739), 2761-2768. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.0012

My Talk with Evan Morier- Joanna Langner

My Talk with Evan Morier:

This past week I had the opportunity to talk to a man who lived in Madagascar for two year as a part of the Peace Corps. I was given his contact information through a mutual friend and thought it would be great to talk to someone who is well versed in the culture and language of Madagascar.

During his stay he worked as an English teacher, and stayed mostly in the southern area of the island.

The main reason I wanted to talk to him (which ended up being over an hour long phone call) was because I wanted advice so that I am prepared and can get the most out of the trip possible.

We started off our conversation with things to pack, which included: 1 rain jacket, 1 warm jacket, 1 light jacket, comfortable shoes for walking, hat, sunglasses, bug repellant, sunscreen, roll on mosquito repellant for night, electrical converter, Tums, and Pepto Bismol.

For cultural information, he had some interesting advice! He said when you go to a new area, try to learn the local taboo so you don’t offend anyone. Another “point” was to never point with your index finger, but use your knuckle or lips to point instead. He said that teamwork and bringing communities together is really important in the culture of Madagascar.

Like Bob said, Evan said to learn a few Malagasy words which will be very impressive to the Malagasy people. However, try to learn the local greeting when you go to different area.

Evans favorite memories included going to the beach, hiking in the forest, and seeing lemurs. He also loved trying different types of rum and the vanilla!

He said to get souvenirs that you will actually use or appreciate, not things that will just sit in your drawer. He said he collected fun coasters to give the friends and keep in his home. When you buy things, try to bargain down to 50%, but don’t bargain on food in markets. We will be paying more for things because we are foreigners and we do not speak the language.

Before we go, we should all try to watch the three part Madagascar episode done by David Attenborough. We should also try to look at Peace Corps or Volunteer blogs for more advice and a look at what types of experiences people have in Madagascar.

Although we have learned about a lot of this before, I wanted to share this information/ advice with you as another source. I am planning on talking to him again next week so let me know if there is anything you want me to ask him! J

-       Jo Langner 

Madagascar red-faced after mass jail break out- Joanna Langner

Madagascar red-faced after mass jail break out: 

            As I try to get a rounded idea of what Madagascar is like, I decided to write a post on safety and police forces.

            Last Tuesday, (May 3^rd 2016) there was a highly embarrassing event for the prison officials in Antananarivo (the same place that we are flying into). As a result of the three week long strike by prison workers, over 30 inmates escaped in an attempt to run away to the Indian Ocean island nation.

            The event occurred at 1:30 in the morning, and it is said it is possible that the guards helped the inmates escape, but this has not been confirmed yet.

            Out of the 37 that escaped, only 6 have been caught as of today. The justice ministry spokesman, Jeremie Napou, was very reluctant to share this information because of how embarrassing the event is. He even refuses to share exactly how this event occurred because he wants to spend time investigating first so he can give the exact, correct story. I believe he might want to wait so he can have a defense ready as well. He has claimed that the Tulear prison is has good security resources and guarding.

            The strike by the prison staff is in response to the lack of adequate transportation for inmates who need to go to court. Currently, public transportation is being used which is inefficient and dangerous.

            One of the most shocking things I read about this event is the fact that two of the inmates who are thought to have possibly escaped are two well-known and dangerous murderers.

            Let’s hope they find everyone before we get there!

Here is the link!

http://www.modernghana.com/news/689750/madagascar-red-faced-after-mass-jail-breakout.html

-      -  Jo Langner 

National Geographic- Seeking an End to the Terror of Rabies in Madagascar- Joanna Langner

National Geographic- Seeking an End to the Terror of Rabies in Madagascar

            In line with my last post, I wanted to further explore sicknesses and disease in Madagascar that we are at risk of, and should therefore be fully educated on. Rabies is one of the more serious diseases that we have could come close to.

            While reading this article I learned that rabies is one of the oldest diseases to infect humans, and it is fatal to humans and dogs. The incubation period of rabies can range from days to even years before any symptoms show, and by this time it is too late to treat the patient. The symptoms are very extreme, and the pathogen has adapted to make its host have a fear of water, causing the host to have extreme thirst and over-salivate. This extra saliva helps spread the disease. Hence the common association of an infected person “foaming at the mouth.” It is amazing to me that the pathogen has adapted this complicated approach to help it spread and survive.

            People are currently looking into research about the transmission and persistence of rabies in dogs in Madagascar, which has previously been studied in Tanzania. The first person to get rabies in Madagascar was infected in 1896. After this event, an institution named Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (IPM) was created. Its original goal was to combat rabies, but it has transformed to be a source of research for doctors and scientists. It gives free, post exposure prophylaxis to people who are thought to be at risk from being exposed to a rabid animal.

            This sound like a great program because it helps people get treatment before the disease can reach the symptomatic stage, therefore preventing death from rabies.

            To eliminate this disease and eradicate the pathogen people have put in place mass vaccination campaign for dogs. Being an isolated island it will be easier, yet still difficult for this to work.

            Some doctors’ claim that rabies is everywhere in Madagascar and it had been raging for a long time, meaning it most likely will not be eradicated soon. This means there is a lot of work to do for the big challenge!

This photograph depicts two boys who just got their puppies vaccinated in one of the many effective mass vaccination clinics for rabies.

Here is the link! http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/05/seeking-an-end-to-the-terror-of-rabies-in-madagascar/

-       Jo Langner

Plague in Madagascar - Michaela

In 2014, there was an outbreak of the plague (yes, the plague that killed millions in the dark ages) in Madagascar. 263 cases were documented, and 71 people died from it. The WHO evaluated plague as having a high risk of becoming an epidemic given that it is highly contagious via coughing, and that urban places in Madagascar are densely packed. The country's weak healthcare system would adds to this risk. The plague is also spread via fleas, which are particularly rampant after rainy seasons. The fleas are becoming resistant to the insecticides typically used against them. Apparently plague outbreaks have resurfaced every few years since 1980, and Madagascar is the country most severely affected by the plague in the world.

check it out!

Reckless Driving by Cam Park

Reckless driving is a problem everywhere, but recently, this problem reached a climax in Antananarivo. Last week, Madagascans held a silent walk in the country’s capital to fight against the irresponsible behavior of commercial drivers. This even was organized in memory of the children who lost their lives to reckless driving this month. There was a recent accident last Friday where 10 people were killed, 6 of whom were primary school children. Many commercial drivers have been accused of reckless behavior like excessive speeding and passenger overload. They argue that they are trying to meet their daily financial targets in order to keep their jobs. Reckless driving has become a significant problem for Madagascar and traffic related deaths account for 2.9% of nationwide deaths. 

As a response, the Madagascan authorities announced that all drivers will be required to get biometric licenses by next Jun and all offenders would be penalized once this ruling goes into effect.

Male Spiders and Oral Sex

by Cameron Park 

So, spiders have generally been known to do weird things during sexual reproduction.For example, some spider species have been known to castrate themselves and some females are known to eat their male counterparts after doing the deed. 

Recently, scientists have discovered another interesting sexual trait of spiders, namely the Darwin’s bark spiders (Caerostris darwini) found in Madagascar. And that sexual behavior is comparable to oral sex. Specifically, the male spider has been known salivate on the genitalia of the female spiders as part of their sexual behavior. They typically do this before, during and after mating. Some spiders will perform this act as many as 100 times.

One reason this may be a prevalent behavior is that it can boost chances of producing offspring and can also help establish a chemical environment that would make their sperm seem more fit than others. There have also been enzymes found in male spiders that may be used to destroy seem leftover from previous mating partners. 

Oral sex is very rare in the animal kingdom with mammals being the only ones to have shown this tendency (namely, lemurs (!), bats, dolphins, lions). These mammals have been observed engaging in more fellatio-like behavior while the cunnilingus-like behavior shown by the bark spiders s even more rare. 

Surgeons, or Lack Thereof, in - Michaela

According to the NYT estimates, a patient in Madagascar has a 90% chance of incurring financial catastrophe in order to achieve surgery. That is, of course, if they can find access to surgery in the first place. 71% of people in Madagascar don't have access to surgery, which is unsurprising given that there are forty times fewer surgical specialists (surgeons, anesthesiologists, obstetricians) per person in Madagascar than in the US. Of these, 75% live in urban cities, despite only 35% of the country's general population living there. What becomes even more depressing is that Madagascar is doing better than most countries in Africa in this respect. Eight million people (!!!!) a year die globally as a result of lack of access to surgery specifically - this causes a burden of disease on par with that of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, but receives far less attention and far fewer resources. It's got me wondering about what technologies are out there or could be designed for surgery in remote locations or in the field. Definitely something I'll be thinking about on our trip. - Michaela
Check it out here!

Rabies -- Lark Trumbly

Although we don't need rabies shots to travel to Madagascar, the threat of rabies is very real for those who spend their lives there. With a 100% fatality rate, rabies is easily one of the least pleasant ways to die -- the brain becomes inflamed, leading to paralysis, hallucinations, insomnia, and/or paranoia. Additionally, the rabid individual is often incredibly thirsty while paradoxically displaying intense hydrophobia, frequently associated with "furious" rabies.

The Malagasy call rabies haromotana, or "twisted in fury," a reference to the foaming mouth and spastic motions of a rabies patient. The Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (IPM), founded in 1898, has continually sought to understand the spread and treatment of rabies. Moreover, the IPM offers free rabies treatments for those who may have been bitten (luckily for us). Researchers believe rabies could feasibly be eliminated in Madagascar as long as certain preventative measures (like vaccinating dogs) are taken. The United States has very few rabies cases -- hopefully Madagascar will soon be the same.

I'm not going to put a picture of rabies on here because it's terrifying, so here's a very non-rabid dog:

Source: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/05/seeking-an-end-to-the-terror-of-rabies-in-madagascar/

Blue Forests

A few weeks ago, I brought the company Blue Ventures into my organism presentation; here's a post about one of their programs in Madagascar -- it's called Blue Forests. It turns out that there are roughly 4,000 square kilometers of mangrove forests recorded in Madagascar. This is the among the top five largest collection of mangrove trees in all of Africa. Mangroves are not only a source of food for neighboring ecosystems, they are known for their unusual ability to sequester carbon dioxide and take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Additionally, these trees protect coastline by buffering habitats from storms, small cyclones and even tsunami, they reduce erosion and pack soil, and they provide habitat for a number of marine species. Five years ago, Blue Ventures established the Blue Forests to encourage and equip communities in western Madagascar to preserve mangrove forests. A few pictures of their conservation efforts!

David

The Last Sovereign of Madagascar

Ranavalona III ruled from July 30, 1883 to February 28, 1897. Her Reign was marked by constant and ultimately unsuccessful efforts to resist the colonial designs of the French government. Ranavalona was selected from among several individuals qualified to succeed the previous ruler upon her death. As did previous rulers, Ranavalona entered a political marriage with a member of the Hova elite.

Queen Ranavalona tried to ward off colonization by strengthening economic ties and diplomatic relations with the United States and Great Britain. After numerous French attacks on costal towns and the eventual capture of the royal palace, Ranavalona was deposed of power.  She was exiled to Algiers, and although was permitted to travel, was not allowed to return to Madagascar. After Ranavalona died at the age of 55 in 1917, she was buried in Algeirs. Her remains were eventually moved back to Madagascar and placed in a tomb on the grounds of the Rova of Antananarivo.

-Michael 

(All information from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranavalona_III )