In Madagascar, millions of hectares of forests burn each year, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in estimated economic losses. Fire is no longer merely an environmental threat—it impacts agriculture, livestock, water resources, land, civil security, and climate. The Cost Extends Beyond Forests According to available estimates, approximately 6 million hectares are affected annually by fires in Madagascar, including nearly 300,000 hectares of forest zones, resulting in economic losses potentially reaching 450 million dollars. The scale reveals the true stakes, as the cost of fire far exceeds the burned area. Vegetation destruction weakens soils, accelerates erosion, affects pastures, and compromises ecosystem services. Agriculture, livestock, water resources, biodiversity, and tourism all suffer consequences from fires whose costs rarely appear in public accounts. Each burned hectare thus represents a potential loss of natural and productive capital. Existing Measures It should be noted that the country already has several instruments in place, including the national contingency plan for bush and forest fires, the national REDD+ strategy, landscape and forest restoration programs, protected area surveillance systems, and restoration objectives for 4 million hectares by 2030. These initiatives, however, face a major challenge: fragmented responses. Fire remains largely associated with environmental policy, when it also concerns agriculture, livestock, land management, civil security, and climate change. National efforts prioritizing prevention through satellite surveillance, risk zone mapping, alert systems, firebreak maintenance, local brigades, and agricultural alternatives to slash-and-burn should be strengthened. Paths Forward How much does the State invest in prevention and how much does it subsequently spend restoring degraded territories? These are questions public authorities and their partners should now be able to document. If fires indeed represent several hundred million dollars in losses, prevention can no longer be considered a secondary expense. It becomes an investment in protecting the country's natural and economic capital. The challenge is therefore to change the metric—no longer measuring only reforested hectares, but also hectares sustainably protected from fire.