Deforestation has increased by 55% during the past year in Vietnam’s Dak Nong province, reports the Vietnam News Agency.
A report in Mongabay.com said that at least 440 hectares (1,100 acres) of tropical forest were illegally logged in the central highland province, and protected areas were also being targeted.
Forest officials attribute the increase to high commodity, especially corn, prices, which encourages the conversion of forest for cropland.
Another factor, the website reports, is the lack of staff and resources among companies that have leased forest concessions.
Vietnam has one of the world’s highest rates of primary forest loss.
Between 1990 and 2005, the country lost 78% of its old-growth forests. Much of these were replaced with industrial plantations, with overall forest cover increasing by more than a third since 1990.
Plantations are biologically impoverished relative to natural forests. They also store less carbon.
Source: Mongabay.com
Date: 18/02/2009
Filed under: biodiversity, conservation, deforestation, tree stats, tropical timber | Tagged: biodiversity, dak nong, deforestation, environment, industrial plantations, mongabay.com, old growth, replanting, vietnam, vietnam news agency
