Madagascar’s unique biodiversity could take millions of years to restore

A Madagascar Rainbow stick insect is shown during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, on Dec 13, 2022. Photo: Lars Hagberg/AFP

The extinction risk to Madagascar’s mammals, including unique species like the lemur, threatens a biodiversity crisis that would take more than 20 million years to heal, scientists warned in January.

The southern Indian Ocean island has been cut off from the African continent for over 80 million years – a separation that has developed an extraordinary array of plants and animals, many of which cannot be found anywhere else on Earth.