Sometimes, the numbers and statistics around environmental destruction are so gargantuan and complex that it's hard to wrap your head around what they actually mean. But this one couldn't be clearer: Madagascar could lose 100% of its rainforests in our lifetimes.
Climate change is ravishing Madagascar, as it is ecosystems around the world. But the country is making a bad situation worse by enabling large scale deforestation of their rainforest.
These aren't just any rainforests. Madagascar is home to an astonishing array of wildlife that isn't found anywhere else on earth. That includes its 101 different lemur species. These cute creatures all live in the rainforest and are already endangered. Losing Madagascar's rainforests wouldn't just change the face of the land, it would lead to a massive, irreversible loss of biodiversity.
There's one positive note to this dire warning: the people who will watch this devastating loss can change the island nation's fate.
Wiping out Madagascar's rainforest is an imminent threat. It's scary, but it's also mobilizing. Nobody wants to allow their home to be ruined. We need the people in power to do something now to prevent the destruction of their homeland forever. We just need to make sure they know the stakes and that the world supports action.