Much of it is falling to chainsaws in the vast central African rainforest. Second in size only to the Amazon, this region is home to more than half of Africa's wild plant and animal species, many of which face certain extinction if destruction on this scale continues. But there are signs that uncontrolled commercial logging in central Africa might slow down.
Some government officials say it's time to change.
The central rainforest stretches into seven African nations, each of them burdened with poverty, international debt, pervasive corruption, even civil war. For these countries, exporting timber is a major source of cash, and protecting forests from over exploitation has been a low priority. The summit was co-chaired by Prince Philip , representing the Worldwide Fund for Nature, which inspired the meeting. The commitments they made were valuable. But beyond meetings of diplomats, this forest could get more protection from simple economics.