Mutsamudu, Comoros
Monday, September 8, 2025

In Anjouan, the most mountainous and densely populated island in the Comoros archipelago, NGOs are attempting to repair the damage caused by decades of deforestation, with the last remaining forests surviving only because they are inaccessible.
Comorian Environment Minister Abubakar Ben Mahmoud paints a grim picture: “We lost 80% of our natural forests between 1995 and 2014.”
This is due to the combined effects of strong demographic pressure, which has led residents to clear the forest for food crops, the production of ylang-ylang essential oil, prized by the big names in luxury perfumery and a major consumer of wood, and the traditional production of carved wooden doors for which the island is renowned.
The population of Anjouan, in the Indian Ocean, is estimated at more than 325,000 inhabitants for an area of 424 km², or more than 700 inhabitants per km².
“The phenomenon of deforestation is intensified by very strong demographic pressure. Farmers are looking for arable land for their activities,” observes the minister.
On the heights of Mutsamudu, the island’s capital, is the headquarters of Dahari, one of the leading NGOs in the fight to restore the forest. From there, you can see entire mountainsides stripped bare.

In 2024, the Comorian organization launched a reforestation program in partnership with farmers dubbed “the guardians of water” (“Walezi wa ya maji”).
The aim is “to work directly with farmers who own land in the highlands through a five-year conservation contract,” explains Misbahou Mohamed, one of Dahari’s managers.
During this period, farmers commit to reforesting or leaving their land fallow in exchange for financial compensation paid after periodic inspection of the plot.

– Energy-intensive production –

The production of ylang-ylang, a yellow flower whose essential oil is used in luxury perfumes, has also contributed to deforestation in Anjouan.
For many years, the Comoros has been one of the leading producers of this essential oil, alongside Madagascar, Mayotte, and Réunion. Agriculture accounts for nearly a third of the national GDP and is mainly based on vanilla, cloves, and ylang-ylang.
The majority of the country’s 10,000 or so ylang-ylang producers are located in Anjouan, and wood remains the cheapest source of energy for distillation, according to a report by the Comoros Agricultural Export Support Agency (AFIDEV), funded by the French Development Agency.

Wood is used to heat the stills and, according to this report, around 250 kg must be burned to obtain one liter of essential oil.
However, some players in the industry are adapting their production methods to limit their consumption.
Mohamed Mahamoud, 67, has been growing and distilling ylang-ylang for nearly 45 years in the town of Bambao Mtsanga.
“A few years ago, distillation required 6 cubic meters of wood (approximately 300 kg, editor’s note). Now I use third-generation stainless steel stills with an improved oven equipped with doors and chimneys. My wood consumption has been cut in half,” he explains.
The 60-year-old now grows mango and breadfruit trees on one of his plots to meet his wood needs.
– Dry rivers –
Other distillers on the island have opted in recent years to distill using petroleum, which “costs twice as much,” according to an exporter in the sector who requested anonymity. “If it were to be done using electricity, it would cost ten times more, not to mention the long periods of power cuts,” says the same source.
Deforestation has also led to the drying up of rivers in Anjouan.
As Abdoul Oubeidillah, a doctor of hydroclimatology, explains, “the forest promotes the infiltration of water that feeds rivers and aquifers, (…) like a sponge that retains water and releases it gradually.”

“In 1925, there were 50 rivers with high flow rates throughout the year. Now, there are fewer than 10 rivers that flow continuously,” says Bastoini Chaambani of the environmental protection NGO Dayima.
The Comorian government also intends to play its part in reforestation efforts. A reforestation campaign involving the population will soon be launched. The Minister of the Environment assures us: “We will do everything we can to save what little forest we have left.”

HUMANITERRE with AFP