Central Africa is steadily giving way to industrial logging, a new research report shows.

In Central Africa as a whole, 600,000 square kilometers of forest –– 30 per cent — has been conceded for logging, whereas only 12 per cent is protected.

“It has never being timelier to monitor forest degradation in Central Africa because there’s still an opportunity to make a significant difference in reducing the amount of deforestation,” Laporte told SciDev.Net.

She says the ‘average citizen’ will be the one to determine the future of the forests in Central Africa.

“If the average citizen decides he only wants to buy certified wood, the industrial company will have to comply. If they do not care, the forests of the world, not just Africa, could be damaged beyond recovery.”

“[People] believe in the concept of having inexhaustible natural resources, and the implication is that we are reckless to our environment and it is showing in the way we are losing biodiversity.”