24 June 2010 Last updated at 02:01

In pictures: Madagascar's troubled environment

These villagers usually farm but due to a lack of water have resorted to fishing. Here they are trawling for fish using mosquito nets. Rope made from sisal is used to help tie the nets together. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Madagascar has an abundance of natural riches but these are being used up at an alarming rate. When the land fails to provide, the Malagasy turn to the ocean. These farmers-turned-fishermen trawl for fish using mosquito nets.

Wood-sellers drag freshly chopped logs to sell in town. This wood is used for everything from fuel to medicines. As the population continues to grow, resources are being stretched to their limit [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Madagascar’s depleted forest system still provides the main livelihood for more than 70% of the population. This wood from Spiny Forest is used for everything from fuel to medicines.

A rock breaker ekes out a living creating gravel and stones for buildings and roads in Bezavo, southern Madagascar. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Many people are being forced to exploit natural resources in order to survive. A rock breaker ekes out a living creating gravel and stones for buildings and roads in Bezavo, in the south of the country.

Village women gather swamp reeds for mats, baskets and hats which, like most things in their lives, come from the land. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

For many Malagasy, everything that is needed to sustain life comes directly from the land. Women gather swamp reeds for mats, baskets and hats - a vital component of village industry.

Rice farmers prepare their field for planting by using cattle to soften the muddy earth so the rice shoots will take hold deeper in the soil. This is an ancient Malagasy tradition called "magnosy".

Women bath and brush their teeth in a local swamp. They use the land and its resources for virtually all aspects of their lives, even if their health could be threatened. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Women bathe and brush their teeth in a local swamp. The land and its resources are used for virtually all aspects of their lives, even if their health could be threatened.

Men pack their baskets with fresh catches of the day. These 'fish-runners' then run for more than three miles to trucks that will take the fish to markets around this part of Madagascar. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Men pack their baskets with fresh catches of the day. These "fish-runners" then run for more than three miles (nearly 5km) to trucks that will take the fish to markets around this part of Madagascar.

Working on a brick kiln. This is a very inefficient use of wood which is the main source of fuel for burning clay to make bricks. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Giant brick kilns, fuelled by firewood, are a common sight - and another cause of the rapid deforestation in the area. Workers bake clay into bricks, their faces obscured by smoke.

Tombstones along a forest road mark a sacred place for local villagers. The cattle heads mark the wealth of the deceased. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Rituals surrounding death remain an important part of the culture in south-east Madagascar. But these burial grounds, once private places hidden by forest, are now exposed. [Photos: Ed Kashi, BBC Focus on Africa magazine]

Africa

In pictures: Madagascar's troubled environment

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