Plague of deforestation sweeps across south-east Asia
Illegal logging and unchecked economic development are taking a devastating toll on forests In 1968, during the six-month siege of Khe Sanh — one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Vietnam War — a special U.S. Air Force outfit flew defoliation missions. Called the Ranch Handers, their motto was: “Only you can prevent a forest.”
They may not have succeeded in their goal, but rapid development in Vietnam and the surrounding nations of the greater Mekong region is on the way to accomplishing what American defoliation missions could not: The widespread destruction of Indochina’s forests and the biodiversity they harbor …
The Guardian – Monday 20 May 2013 17.34 BST
www.guardian.co.uk/environment…
———-
Veröffentlicht von „der fellbeißer“© (www.fellbeisser.net/news/) am 20.05.2013
twitter.com/fellbeisser
