What is being done to conserve biodiversity in Madagascar Essay

What is being done to conserve biodiversity in Madagascar - Essay Example This flora in terms of biological diversity is under serious danger in spite of its importance. â€Å"Over 80% of the island has already been stripped of its native vegetation cover; the majority of this area is now very species-poor secondary grassland which is burnt annually and is subject to intense erosion.† (Du Puy & Moat 1998). Madagascar forests have been degraded in such a way that now only less than 10% of its original forest cover is remaining. The intention of this article is to bring awareness on conservation efforts of evergreen forests of the high plateau, littoral forest and western dry deciduous forest. There are few forest recovery programs under conservation efforts in different forest types of Madagascar. These ecosystems urgently require toughened conservation programs due to their fragmented natural world. Forest fragmentation is causing a decrease in genetic diversity and is leading to an extinction path. The evergreen forest of high plateau is one of the high priority areas for plant conservation which is known as severely fragmented remnant forest. Recently, this forest was subjected to timber extraction which resulted in damage to its structure and integrity. Also some fragments of this forest have been significantly burned. In this forest, Madagascar’s most threatened, endangered species Schizolaena tampoketsana is found. Schizolaena tampoketsana, locally known as Sohisaka, belongs to one of the six endemic plant families. The reason behind endangered Sohisaka is selective felling of trees and burning from wild fires which are common in this region annually. Littoral forests are humid, low elevation forests on sand which have been identified as the most threatened vegetation type in Madagascar. It is along the east coast of Madagascar where the forests are highly degraded and fragmented that represents less than 10% of original area. In this forest, Madagascar’s

Life on the Color Line Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Life on the Color Line - Essay Example Their mother leaves them when faced with bankruptcy. Now the whites will not accept them, and the blacks will not accept them either. The boys, however, decide to grit out a living even in such abysmal conditions (Gregory Howard Williams). Racism happen the world over. It happened in Germany when the Nazis declared the superiority of their race. It happened in the Roman empire where Roman citizens boasted of the privileges of their status that was not available to non-Romans. These incidents took place in the past, sometimes in the distant past. However, the issue has not died down to the level where their exposure would only draw curiosity and nothing else. One of the reasons that racism has not died down is the us-and-them thinking pattern that looks upon one's neighbor cultural background with disdain and mockery. From such attitudes one can easily graduate to potentially more dangerous forms of racism that refuses to die down or be consigned to the annals of distant history. One is reminded of the horrors of the Ku Klux Klan and the beating of Rodney King by four white Los Angeles police officers in 1992. These incidents, unfortunately, do not allow the topic of racism to exit in a peaceful mortuary. The present status of Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States can serve as a bright example of racial tolerance that exists in the United States today. However, consider these facts while hailing the incident of Barak Hussein Obama being elected the first non-white president of the United States. "There is no question that the possibility of violence directed at presidential candidates, especially Obama, is the elephant in the middle of the room," says Peter Fenn, adjunct professor of political management at George Washington University, to describe the media's careful coverage of the issue. Hillary Clinton's comments about the 1968 assassination of Kennedy caused an uproar among those who believe that the candidate wanted to bring up the security issue surrounding Obama" (Marcus Baram). The security threat to Obama exists manifold more that those that existed for white presidents earlier. The issue is not only perplexing but also potential enough for the nation to be concerned about since it has to do with a president who has been elected in a fair and free manner. Conscious and Informed Awareness In the prevailing conditions, it is difficult to decide to turn a new leaf and start afresh where there will be no racial recriminations. Undoubtedly, the situation has improved from what it was earlier when it was all right for black men to serve as caddies and it was normal for black women to serve as housemaids. These are the days when a black man is the president of the United States. However, the stigma of being black in a nation where the white is predominant cannot be removed by wishful objectives. They have to be side stepped with humility and simple acknowledgment. Racial divisions will continue to make their presence felt because man is ultimately a weak entity. Every nation on earth has a race that is majority and some races in the minority. It is natural for the majority to claim dominance over the minority. Nonetheless, issues that concern law and order problems relating