Madagascar is an island lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. It split from Africa during the Early Jurassic, around 180 million years ago, and split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. The western and southern sides of the island, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Due to their lower population densities, Madagascar's dry deciduous forests have been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. According to the UN, more than one million people in southern Madagascar are struggling to get enough to eat, due to what could become the first famine caused by climate change.