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Biodiversity Facts Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned. The four volcanic islands (Grande Comore, Mohéli, Anjouan, Mayotte) of Comoros form part of the Madagascar hotspot and are characterized by their remarkable endemic biodiversity. However, biodiversity in general is being degraded. Strong pressure placed on the land from a constantly increasing population has led to the degradation of natural vegetation, decline in soil productivity, soil erosion, drying up of rivers and the degradation of coastal ecosystems (coral siltation), most particularly in Anjouan and Mohéli. The disappearance of natural habitats, together with a lack of environmental protection measures and legislation to control the illegal trade of plants (e.g. orchids) and animals (e.g. sea cucumbers, birds, lizards), threaten the species of the entire archipelago. Nowadays, initial vegetation formations exist in the form of residual fragments only. In 2008, the FAO estimated that the forest could completely disappear over the next 10 years. Tree steppes/savannas are threatened by their clearing for land use, especially for cash crop cultures (e.g. clove, ylang-ylang, vanilla, pepper). Unsustainable forest and agricultural practices, including slash-and-burn, and overexploitation for firewood or timber, have destroyed the possibility for natural forest and endemic plant species regeneration. The status of many plant species remains unknown, with many of them threatened or having already disappeared.
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