The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the most active and successful organizations in the world researching and sharing knowledge concerning the flora of Madagascar. After two decades of taxonomic research and in-country capacity building, MBG observed an alarming loss in plant biodiversity.  This was largely due to the impoverished rural communities being dependent on the forests for their resources. Today, the William L. Brown Center employs over 50 Malagasy conservationists and botanists, managing programs that incorporate community-building and establishing goals towards plant conservation, natural product discoveries and ethnobotany.