National Groups Unite For Forests In Comoros

(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) Mutsamudu – In Mutsamudu, the capital of Anjouan Island, part of the Comoro Islands, strips of bare land make up the lush, green slopes of the mountains. This is the most mountainous and populated island of this Arab African country, made up of islands in the Indian Ocean, with several initiatives working to restore deforested areas.“We lost 80% of our natural forests between 1995 and 2014,” said Comoros' Minister of the Environment, Abubakar Ben Mahmoud, in a recent interview with AFP.

Activities such as producing ylang-ylang essential oil, used in luxury perfumes, and crafting the traditional carved wooden doors for which the island is renowne., have impacted the forests.“Deforestation has been intensified as farmers are looking for arable land for their activities,” said the minister. The government said it will work on reforestation.“We will do everything we can to save what little forest we have left,” said the Minister of the Environment.

A local organization called Dahari launched a reforestation program last year involving farmers. Under a five-year conservation contract, these farmers agree to replant their land with trees or leave it fallow in exchange for financial compensation, explains one of the project managers, Misbahou Mohamed. The first phase included 30 farmers.

The ylang-ylang essential oil industry has been trying to limit its impact Comoros is among the world's top producers of the delicate and sweet-smelling yellow flower, prized for its supposed relaxing properties and widely used in famous perfumes. The production of ylang-ylang, vanilla and cloves makes up a large part of the archipelago's agricultural output, which represents a third of its gross domestic product.

The country has around 10,000 ylang-ylang producers, most based in Anjouan, according to a report commissioned by the French Development Agency for a project to support the Comoran agricultural exports. Burning wood is the cheapest fuel source for the distillation process, the report highlighted. Some producers, however, are limiting their use of wood.

Farmer Mohamed Mahamoud, 67, said he has cut his wood consumption in half by modernizing his equipment.“I now use third-generation stainless steel alembics, with an improved oven equipped with doors and chimneys,” he said. He has been working with ylang-ylang for nearly 45 years. To avoid encroaching on the forest, most of his wood now comes from mango and breadfruit trees he grows himself.

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Translated by Guilherme Miranda

©Marco Longari/AFP

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