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Illegal Logging in Thailand: Described by a Christian Science Monitor
Reporter
"Nobody knows exactly how many square miles of the rain forest in southern Thailand have been ravaged by the
logging industry.
From the perspective of a small group of people struggling their way across the wasted hills, it seems as if the
whole world has been blasted to dust and ash and twisted stumps.
From horizon to horizon the land was gray and white, the soft round contours of the hills broken by jagged lines:
the refuse of limbs, unsalable trees, and torn-up soil left by the loggers.
Within minutes, we were soaked with sweat and laboring for breath, even the pu chuay, who is well experienced at
traveling in this type of terrain.
There was no cover from the tropical sun; there was no sign of life. No birds sang, no small things scurried underneath
the brush, and the only insects we saw were swarms of very hungry mosquitoes. There was no path to follow, the
streams were choked with ash and deadfall, and the dirt was dry and loose underfoot. The place stank of rot and
stagnant water" (Rosse 1993).
Continued: Economic Restructuring
This article was written by Rhett A. Butler [bibliographic citation for this page] and was last updated on the most recent date listed in the column on the right side.
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