Earthsky Interviews
Private: Logging roads spread across African forests
June 24, 2007 - Human World
Nadine Laporte
.
They’ve been studying satellite maps that show the density of logging roads have dramatically increased in central Africa in the past few years. Currently, 6% of Africa’s forests are affected by logging. But up to 30% of the forest is open for future logging. Only 12% is protected. Nadine Laporte is the director of Africa programs at the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts.
Nadine Laporte: _It is changing fast and more and more forest seems to be converted to logging._
Central Africa is the second largest continuous rainforest in the world, and is home to some of the most diverse and remote ecosystems. Industrial loggers create roads to these areas and remove mahogany trees, which are a popular building material in Europe and Asia. But Laporte said both human and animal survival in the African rainforests hinge on keeping these ecosystems intact.
African governments have forest management plans and logging regulations in place, but they’re frequently unable to monitor large areas of forest. Laporte said that the satellite maps are a simple way of keeping track of how logging in Africa is expanding.
Our thanks today to “NASA”:http://www.nasa.gov: explore, discover, understand.
*Thanks to:*
Nadine Laporte
Director of Africa Programs
Woods Hole Research Center
Falmouth, MA
“Impacts Of Industrial Logging In Central Africa Studied”:http://www.whrc.org/pressroom/press_releases/PR-2007-06-07-Africa-Logging.htm
“Logging roads rapidly expanding in Congo rainforest”:http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0607-congo.html
“Chinese demand drives global deforestation”:http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSSP30942220070611?feedType=RSS&pageNumber=1 (Reuters)
“What’s so bad about deforestation?”:http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSSP23559220070611 (Reuters)