last updated 27th October 05
by 4ecotips.com

Satellite photos show 60% discrepancy

Recent advanced satellite images have revealed the true extent of the damage caused by selective logging, the practise where one or two trees are logged leaving the surrounding area supposedly intact. In fact, destruction of the Amazon rain forest has been underestimated by as much as 60%.

Much of the selective logging taking place in Brazil is believed to be illegal.

Penny Kemp, UK Green Part Spokesperson on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commented: "These new images demonstrate that selective logging is destroying areas at a rate comparable to conventional logging, we are losing the rainforest at twice the rate we previously thought. The seriousness of this situation cannot be overstated.

"Although companies claim that selective logging causes less damage, the most valuable trees are in the densest areas of the forest, this means that even before the logging begins, massive areas have to be cleared to allow the trucks and heavy equipment to access the area."

Kemp said it raised serious questions about the ability of the Brazilian and other governments to enforce environmental legislation and highlighted the need for international action to prevent the rainforest destruction.

What must be remembered was that the environmental costs of this logging did not stop at the destruction of animal and plant life; logging on this scale produced millions of tonnes of carbon emissions which contributed to climate change. "

Kemp urged that: "Action must be taken now to ensure the survival of one of the most important habitats on earth."