When will Madagascar chop down its last tree? 2010? 2015?

Madagascar
22.1% 鈥攐r about 12,838,000 hectares鈥攐f Madagascar is forested. Of this, 80.6% 鈥攐r roughly 10,347,000 hectares鈥攊s classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse form of forest.

Change in Forest Cover: Between 1990 and 2000, Madagascar lost an average of 66,900 hectares of forest per year. The amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 0.49%. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate of forest change decreased by 41.9% to 0.28% per annum. In total, between 1990 and 2005, Madagascar lost 6.2% of its forest cover, or around 854,000 hectares. Madagascar lost -156,000 hectares鈥?鈥攐f its primary forest cover during that time. Deforestation rates of primary cover have decreased 1.5% since the close of the 1990s. Measuring the total rate of habitat conversion (defined as change in forest area plus change in woodland area minus net plantation expansion) for the 1990-2005 interval, Madagascar lost 14.3% of its forest and woodland habitat.

TRAGICLY, USING SIMPLE MATH 10 YEARS AT THE MOST.
Small ray of light an effort is made at reforestation by farmers.

IF slash and burn agriculture stops, they may be able to save what is left. It's not overpopulation or starvation just questionable agricultural practices.

At the rate they are going, with their slash and burn agriculture, it will end up looking like a larger version of Haiti. Fly over Madagascar and you will see umpteen bonfires in progress. It is understandable that when your children are crying because they are hungry you will be more exercised with feeding them than with preserving your national heritage, but it is still very, very sad. There are organisations working on the problem. http://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservati...
http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/86/Madaga...

Here's further reading: http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v3/v3i2a2....