**Illegal logging of tropical forests in Africa and expansion of slash-and-burn agriculture in the Amazon region of South America - May 2003**.

**Illegal logging of tropical forests in Africa and expansion of slash-and-burn agriculture in the Amazon region of South America - May 2003**.

Around 2003, international demand for forest resources remained high, and timber exports, especially to Asian and Western markets, were accelerating environmental destruction in tropical forest areas. In tropical African forests, illegal logging was rampant in the cross-border timber trade. Inadequate local government monitoring and legal regulations allowed companies and intermediaries to circumvent regulations and expropriate forest resources. As a result, the deforestation accelerated, making it difficult for local people who depend on forests for their livelihoods to secure food and fuel and to use water resources. In addition, biodiversity, including endemic species, was seriously damaged, and the international community has been discussing accusations by environmental NGOs and the need for a sustainable timber certification system.

During the same period, the Amazon region of South America also experienced rapid expansion of farmland through slash-and-burn agriculture in response to population growth and expanding agricultural exports. Deforestation for the purpose of expanding cattle ranching and soybean production, mainly in Brazil, took place over a wide area, and large fires frequently broke out during the dry season. As a result, forest soils deteriorated, losing water retention capacity and fertility, and a long period of time was required for recovery. In addition, the carbon dioxide emitted from slash-and-burn fires has become a cause of international concern as a contributor to global warming, and in the early 2000s, conservation of the Amazon became one of the main topics of discussion at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Against this backdrop, the compatibility of tropical forest conservation and local economic developme
nt emerged as an international environmental policy issue.