All six Madagascan species of baobab tree face extinction.
Affectionately known as ‘mothers of the forest’, or the ‘upside down tree’, the famous trees of Madagascar used to be protected by local communities.
But now, poverty has caused deforestation to take over, and it is bringing these huge trees crashing to the ground – at a rate of 1-2% per year. That’s up to 20% every ten years.
To protect baobab trees, we must help communities set up sustainable businesses, and replant what has been lost. This is the only way to stop these magnificent trees from going extinct.
By donating today, you can help communities to replant baobab trees.
£95
could help pay for a community workshop, enabling people who live closest to these trees to come together for their protection.
Using modern technologies, like GPS, helps to monitor species. IPTC - Credit © Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora International
£45
could pay for a GPS kit, so the locations of baobabs can be logged and new saplings can be strategically placed.
£30
could pay for crucial planting equipment - simple things such as shovels, gloves and watering cans - to get one more person planting saplings in the field.
Perrier's Baobab plantation Planting in Maromokotra. From Madagascar Baobabs project work 2011-2022. © Tonisoa Ranaivo / Madagasikara Voakaj
£9
would be enough to help put one new sapling into the forest, helping give these trees a chance of bouncing back.
What is the significance of the baobab tree?
The nickname ‘mother of the forest’ is for good reason.
These trees are the absolute bedrock of the ecosystems they live in. They provide food for birds and lizards, and homes for lemurs and bats.
Species after species have evolved to rely on them for their everyday survival.
If we rip that bedrock out of the forest, all those species are ripped out with them.
It’s one of many reasons that local communities have revered them for centuries – the same communities who we need to help protect them.
We have a plan to do that. But we need help.
Grandidier's baobab at the golden hour. © Michail / Adobe Stock
Baobabs have been revered for generations and local people would move mountain to save them - we can help give them an opportunity to.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to help baobab trees?
We are helping local communities safeguard baobab trees. These people know best how to protect the forest they grew up in, and with your help they can protect them for generations to come.
We are also supporting communities to grow and plant new baobab trees, replacing what’s been destroyed in this deforestation crisis before the ecosystems completely break down.
But there is still a long way to go. The remaining baobab trees are a last stand against the continual threat of deforestation. By giving today, you will help save baobab trees by enabling us to scale up this vital protection work.
How could your donation help save baobab trees?
We urgently need more funding to plant more saplings.
Our teams in the fields need planting equipment – like pots and tools – to plant the seedlings. They then need to protect and care for the saplings until they’re strong enough to survive in the wild.
A donation of £9 would be enough to help get one new sapling into the forest, helping give this species a chance of bouncing back.
Please help save these magnificent baobabs by donating what you can.
By doing this, you will help give these incredible trees and the people and animals that depend on them a future.
The mighty baobab can live for up to 2,500 years. With your help, we can plant hundreds more that will tower over Madagascar for millennia.
Why Fauna & Flora?
Fauna & Flora is one of the most effective tree conservation forces on the planet. We have decades of experience protecting and restoring populations of threatened tree species, and have first-hand experience of saving baobabs.
We spend our money well, and work only where we’re sure we can make a difference. We are able to transfer full control of projects over to the communities that will benefit from them. This means that we can then shift our resources onto other areas of conservation, safe in the knowledge that our work is in good hands.
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