Demand for charcoal threatens the forest of Madagascar’s last hunter-gatherers

The Mikea, who number around 1,000 people, are facing what many of them say is an existential environmental problem -Their ancestral forest in southwestern Madagascar is partly protected inside a national park - However, it is rapidly being chopped down to supply a growing demand for charcoal, the country’s primary source of cooking fuel - Some Mikea, having lived their entire lives hunting and gathering, are facing a shortage of game and other food and are now considering whether they must abandon the forest, and their way of life, for good.

Article publishec on october 3, 2019