Fine for Burning Down Eden's Forests: 11 Cents

A lemur in a Madagascar National Park.

Photo: Jerome Delay / AP Photo

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When Madagascar drifted away from Africa some 165 million years ago, wildlife on the island spun off on its own unique evolutionary path, producing the world's only lemurs, as well as dozens of amphibian and bird species found nowhere else on earth. That unique wildlife, which was only discovered by humans 2,000 years ago, has prompted many to refer to the island as an Eden-like remnant of the natural world as it was before human contact.

And yet, the fine for burning down forest in this Eden is a mere 11 cents, according to the German Press Agency.

Farmers routinely start fires, and these fires consume nearly 2,000 square miles every year – nearly 1% of the land area of the island. Since 1953, the world's largest island has lost about half its tropical forests, leading to the extinction of several unique species; at least one study has predicted that half the island's plant and animal species face extinction due to deforestation. Deforestation not only consumes wildlife habitat, but also contributes to global warming.

The World Bank is paying for a plan to slow deforestation, and Madagascar's environmental minister has said it's time to get tough on illegal burning, and time for individuals to start planting new trees. We would agree, except on one point: It's past time.

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