Bush fires are a huge problem in Madagascar. People have all kinds of reasons to set fire to land: to clear it for agriculture, to burn useless weeds and make room for french new graze, or to produce charcoal.
A major disaster struck last weekend: the stunning
Allee de Baobab in Morondava, has been victim to wild fire. It took five hours to discover the fire, and many many more to kill it. Local people tried, but all they had was plastic water cans and branches. There is no proper fire brigade.
Seeing this picture brought tears to my eyes. Some of these trees are over 800 years old!
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| NOW WE KNOW THIS PHOTO HAS BEEN PHOTOSHOPPED! SHAME! |
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| Natural monument of Madagascar before the fire |
So if you see a Baobab or any other big old beautiful tree, give it a big, fat, long hug, you never know for how long it will be there for!
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| Tree hugging is good for you...and for the trees! |
Bad news for Madagascar's tourism.
ReplyDeleteA Malagasy Reader
Well, not sure..maybe the disaster tourism will pick up real quick :-)
ReplyDeleteI doubt the baobab alley's destruction will generate a tourism surge unlike the resortation of painting of Jesus gone wrong in Borja,Spain.
DeleteA Malagasy Reader.
Hi
ReplyDeletei am sad too... we took so nice picture of this allee de baobabs in 2001...
i'll follow your advise next time i meet a beautiful tree..
cheers
Mich