nently destroying the land. When they returned to the land after it had regenerated they would continue slashing and burning it, releasing the nutrients that had been restored. The problem in this process arose when the population of Madagascar grew too large. With the increase of population came the need for more farmland. Now with the enormous amount of people living off of the land there is no more time for re-growth. Instead farmers are forced to re-plant on the same area of land over and over again. This makes problems worse because the area of land then becomes infertile relatively quick. According to specialists nearly one hundred tons of topsoil is destroyed each year. After that land is reaped of all its nutrients the farmers have no choice but to move to another area. Tavy is single handedly responsible for destroying the entire island that was once a luscious rain forest with many endemic species. What remains of this unique rain forest is only 10% of what existed before the arrival of humans. At the rate the forest is currently being destroyed, scientists give the remaining forests only 25 years to live. Madagascar has permanently lost many of its native plants that cannot be found anywhere in the world. Many plants living here have been found to have medicinal purposes. Two drugs that have been used on the island naturally are vincristine and vinblastine. The plants in this rain forest provide cheap and easily accessible Medicare. These plants could hold cures for the diseases of the future and are also the home to some of the most unique animals in the world that now must adapt or die.Currently the numbers of animal species living on the island are decreasing at an alarming rate. Many unique species are becoming extinct due to the loss of land and because of poachers. Still living on the island are some of the most interesting species living today. One of the species that is completely endemic to the isl...
