Uncontrolled logging is destroying Cambodia’s forests, fueled by greed, corruption, and incompetence, according to a report released yesterday by the Asian Development Bank. The bank recommended that the Cambodian government cancel a number of logging contracts, and the government seems open to the idea. Environmentalists have been warning for years that rampant logging and government corruption could lead to the nation’s forests being wiped out by 2003. One enviro group, London-based Global Witness, praised the bank’s assessment of the problem, but said it should recommend a nationwide logging moratorium until a new forest management system can be put in place.
