TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ALINE RANAIVOSON
Tourists take photographs in the “Avenue of the Baobabs”, a famous natural reserve in western Madagascar, near Morondava, on November 7, 2011. The “Avenue of the Baobabs” was designated as a protected zone in 2007 after a sugar factory flooded the area with water for several years and farmers started cultivating rice on the lands, causing ancestral baobab trees to rot and fall. The site was restored through conservation efforts and the active participation of the local “Fanamby” organization which worked on teaching dry-land farming practices to families living nearby and started a small outlet for making and selling handicrafts. AFP PHOTO / Aline Ranaivoson (Photo credit should read ALINE RANAIVOSON/AFP/Getty Images)