Forests in Southeast Asia Fall to Prosperity's Ax (NY Times)

[Omaha Steve]

By JANE PERLEZ
Published: April 29, 2006

LONG ALONGO, Indonesia — For as long as anyone can remember, Anyie Apoui and his people have lived among the majestic trees and churning rivers in an untouched corner of Borneo, catching fish and wild game, cultivating rice and making do without roads. But all that is about to change.

The Indonesian government has signed a deal with China that will level much of the remaining tropical forests in an area so vital it is sometimes called the lungs of Southeast Asia.

For China, the deal is a double bounty: the wood from the forest will provide flooring and furniture for its ever-expanding middle class, and in its place will grow vast plantations for palm oil, an increasingly popular ingredient in detergents, soaps and lipstick.


A hunter in the Kayan Mentarang National Park on Borneo, whose forests may be threatened by a Chinese logging project.


Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/world/asia/29indo.html?ex=1146974400&en=a2c1a2f938d3831f&ei=5043&partner=EXCITE

[Robbien]

1. They are going to chop down 4.4 million acres!

"People have told me, 'Wood is gold, you're still too honest,' "

:cry: