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)