Fight to save last forests unites farmers

STRIPS of bare land scar the lush and green mountainsides towering above Mutsamudu, the capital of the Indian Ocean island of Anjouan.

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On the most mountainous and densely populated island in the Comoros, only the most remote forests have escaped decades of deforestation — ravages which several NGOs are now trying to repair.

“We lost 80% of our natural forests between 1995 and 2014,” Abubakar Ben Mahmoud, environment minister of the country off northern Mozambique, said in a recent interview.

The clearing of the forest for cultivation has compounded damage caused by the production of ylang-ylang essential oil, used in luxury perfumes, and the manufacture of traditional carved wooden doors for which the island is renowned.

With a high population density of more than 700 residents per square kilometre, “Deforestation has been intensified as farmers are looking for arable land for their activities,” the minister said.