Paradise lost

THE Gorongosa is being suffocated Slowly. Illegal mahogany-felling operations
in and around this timber-rich national
park of Mozambique is threatening to
devastate the region's fragile ecology.
There are about 7 timber interests cutting in the area, some licensed by the
government and some not; despite the
visible evidence of largescalt uncontrolled logging, government sources are
at a loss as to the number of legal concessions granted in the area.
The government is keen to rehabilitate Gorongosa. But this might turn out
to be an unwelcome move: infrastructural development in the area, including
the reopening of many roads inside the
park, will only fuel the unchecked deforestation. (ips)