Historical State

       Some 150 million years ago, Madagascar split from Africa and became an isolated island containing heaps of diverse and endemic plant and animal species. With the discovery by humans about 2000 years ago, Madagascar has seen an extreme hit in all aspects of life. Forest covered most of the island at one point, with almost the entire east side containing tropical rainforests. It is thought that around 90% of the islands forest has been forgotten. In the 1600’s, irrigated paddy fields were grown in the central highlands, transforming this ecosystem from forest to grassland. French Colonization in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries also had great affects on the land. France came to Madagascar to exploit the land for crops. Tons of land was cleared of forests and cultivated for coffee growth. Soil erosion from these leveled areas increased the destruction of forests and sucked nutrients from the land. As a result, species living in this biodiverse hotspot were greatly affected and destroyed. Still today much of the deforested areas are due to agriculture.

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