Editing Geography of Madagascar (section)

==Flora and fauna==
{{see also|Fauna of Madagascar|Flora of Madagascar}}
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[[File:Adansonia grandidieri02.jpg|thumb|[[Adansonia grandidieri|Baobabs]] near [[Morondava]]]]
The island of Madagascar has been described as an "alternate world" or a "world apart" because of the uniqueness and rarity of many of its plant and animal species. Their characteristics are believed to reflect the island's origins as a part of [[Gondwanaland]] and its many millions of years of isolation following the breakup of the landmass.

Many of the characteristic African species—large mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, and antelope and predators such as lions and leopards—do not exist in Madagascar. In addition, the island has been spared the great variety of venomous snakes indigenous to the African continent. Although it is assumed that most life forms on the island had an African (or South American) origin, isolation has allowed old species&mdash;elsewhere extinct&mdash;to survive and new species unique to the island to evolve. Thus, a great number of plant, insect, reptile, and fish species are [[endemism|endemic]] to Madagascar, and all indigenous land mammal species&mdash;66 in all&mdash;are unique to the island.

Madagascar was once covered almost completely by forests, but [[slash and burn]] practices for dry rice cultivation has denuded most of the landscape, especially in the Central Highlands. [[Rain forest]]s are concentrated on the steep hillsides along a slender north–south axis bordering the east coast, from the Tsaratanana Massif in the north to Tolagnaro in the south. Secondary growth, which has replaced the original forest and consists to a large extent of [[Ravenala madagascariensis|traveller's trees]], [[raffia palm]], and [[Adansonia|baobab]]s, is found in many places along the east coast and in the north. The vegetation of the Central Highlands and the west coast is for the most part [[savanna]] or [[steppe]], and coarse prairie grass predominates where erosion has not exposed the orange-red lateritic soil. In the southwest, the vegetation is adapted to desert conditions.

The remaining rain forest contains a great number of unique plant species. The country has some 900 species of [[orchid]]. [[Banana]]s, [[mango]]es, [[coconut]], [[vanilla]], and other tropical plants grow on the coasts, and the [[eucalyptus]] tree, brought from [[Australia]], is widespread today.

Wood and charcoal from the forests are used to meet 80% of domestic fuel needs. As a result, wood has become scarce. In 1990, the [[World Bank]] launched an environmental program that has increased the planting of pine and eucalyptus to satisfy fuel needs.