Between 2001 and 2024, a quarter of Madagascar’s native rainforest has vanished. At this rate of destruction, those ecosystems will be entirely wiped out by the end of the century. Could collecting and preserving the seeds of the endangered plants help repair the country’s ancient forests?
Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: The Economist’s Ainslie Johnstone; Henintsoa Razanajatovo and Nomentsoa Randriamamonj of Kew Madagascar; Sharon Balding and Charlotte Lusty of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst.
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