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their countries to view these animals. 



But the truth is that we do not know the full range of plant and animal species that 

 would be lost if biodiversity in the rainforests of the Congo Basin and Madagascar is 

 destroyed. And thus we cannot begin to estimate the potential scientific advances in 

 medicine, agriculture and other fields that would be lost to the world as a whole if 

 Madagascar loses its battle. 



We are all familiar with the rosy periwinkle, a plant native to Madagascar, that was 

 imported into the United States at the turn of the century and that has played a critical role in 

 the fight against childhood leukemia. How many other rosy periwinkles are being lost 

 through deforestation and environmental devastation? 



In short, the environmental challenges in the Congo Basin, Madagascar and Africa as 

 a whole are serious, not just for Africa but for all of us. 



What are the root causes of these problems? Certainly, rapid population growth, 

 urbanization, the movement of people resulting from the lack of economic opportunity, and 

 civil strife have all placed increasing pressure on an already fragile ecosystem. Poverty itself 

 is a cause. But underlying these are a series of key problems affecting the way people use 

 resources: 



• Solutions often seem to require too much time to those in immediate need. An 

 African woman who needs to feed her children tonight is unlikely to pay much 

 attention to the long-term consequences associated with removing wood from the land. 



• Institutions involved with the environment have often been both overly directive and 

 ineffective. Too much attention was given to building fences and national parks while 



