Much of the original forest cover on Madagascar has been destroyed primarily as a result of which activity?

• A. Logging for timber exports
• B. Urban expansion
• C. Natural disasters
• D. Burning for agricultural purposes

Answer: (D)

Deforestation in Madagascar has been driven mainly by human land-use changes, especially slash-and-burn farming. People clear forests by burning them to create fields for crops and pasture, a practice that has expanded over large areas and prevents the forest from regenerating quickly. This method rapidly removes vast tracts of forest cover and leads to soil degradation, making reforestation slow or unlikely. While logging can remove trees and urban growth can encroach on forests, neither explains the sustained, large-scale loss as directly as burning for agricultural purposes. Natural disasters may damage forests, but they don’t account for the long-term, widespread reduction in forest area.