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Madagascar's Sapphire Rush

Tens of thousands of Madagascar's poor are flocking to the country's remote forests to illegally mine for sapphires. But the wealth they seek comes at an environmental cost.

Tens of thousands of Madagascar's poor are flocking to the country's remote forests to illegally mine for sapphires. But the wealth they seek comes at a cost. Virgin rainforests are now scarred by mine shafts and makeshift villages that pollute the water. This is threatening the habitat of one of the world's rarest animals, the Indri Lemur. Our World's Angus Crawford trekked up to the mines that run through the territory of this critically endangered Lemur.

30 minutes

Last on

Boxing Day 2017 22:30GMT

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