Before leaving for Africa, we decided to do a little research in order to find out more about Madagascar!
Madagascar's economy is not where it should be:
The economy in Madagascar is not strong enough to support the number of people that live there. Madagascar has a fairly weak economy although it is slowly but surely improving like many of the developing or recently developed nations in Africa. One of the biggest issue that the economy is having has to do with the way money is spent. Currently education and health care are not receiving the funds they should and therefore are under a strain. In a developed country the economy is based less on agriculture and more on manufactured goods that can be exported for a high profit under a lower risk. Madagascar has an economy, that makes money off of tourism, but has an economy heavily reliant upon agricultural goods. The tax base of the nation is the easiest way for the economy to improve. By widening a tax base and changing the ways the taxes are used the economy or Madagascar could improve the areas of the economy that need help the most. The government has instated a policy that encourages the reduction of poverty, this should encourage the slowly improving economy to improve more quickly.
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Environmental Issues:
Because of the large economic diversity and large amounts of forest, the environment in Madagascar is bound to be troubled. Over time, the forests in Madagascar have gotten smaller. Forests that were once blanketed in plants and nature are now scrub lands. The ecological decline has not been ignored. Since 1881 there have been rules in Madagascar to protect its environment, even with these rules there are still problems. Deforestation, soil erosion, fires, over exploitation through hunting, and introduction of alien species have all proven to be problematic to Madagascar's economy. If the ecosystems in Madagascar disappear the entire world will suffer from the loss of hundreds of species that are Unique to Madagascar.
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Drug Trade
When researching issues in Madagascar I was surprised that besides the environmental issues and the economic issues, Madagascar had a clean(ish) slate. The environmental issues are understandable, if a country has that many species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world they are bound to have environmental issues. The economic issues also didn't come as a surprise. Many of the nations in Africa are developing or recently developed and therefore have a weak economy. Madagascar remained with nothing out of the ordinary until I looked into the drug trade there. Recently the NDEA seized a large consignment or drugs that is believed to have originated from Madagascar. There was around $350,000 worth of drugs found. The drug trade in Madagascar appears to be a large issue.
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Sources:
"$350,000 Drugs from Madagascar Seized." - Seychelles News Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/155/,+drugs+from+Madagascar+seized>.
"Forests in Madagascar." Mongabay.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20madagascar.htm>.
"IMF Says Madagascar Economy on the Mend." Yahoo News UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/imf-says-madagascar-economy-mend-202806517.html#WRkrDuO>.
"The Lemurs of Madagascar Today - HowStuffWorks." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/lemurs-live-in-madagascar2.htm>
"$350,000 Drugs from Madagascar Seized." - Seychelles News Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/155/,+drugs+from+Madagascar+seized>.
"Forests in Madagascar." Mongabay.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20madagascar.htm>.
"IMF Says Madagascar Economy on the Mend." Yahoo News UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/imf-says-madagascar-economy-mend-202806517.html#WRkrDuO>.
"The Lemurs of Madagascar Today - HowStuffWorks." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/lemurs-live-in-madagascar2.htm>