Commercial logging presents a great danger to Amazonian rainforest, particularly as [G 18 / hardwood] has become so scarce in other parts of the world. The Japanese, who import 50 percent of the world's hardwood, mainly from Southeast Asia, are now turning to Amazonia for fresh supplies. Europe and North America are also big importers of tropical hardwoods.
Acapus, mahogany, pausanto and rosewood are all found in Amazonia. At the moment, around 5,985 square miles of Amazon rainforest is logged every year. Much of this is by illegal loggers who often cause even more damage than the big logging companies. When the logging companies move into an uninhabited area of forest, their tractor paths open the way for poor urban migrants to penetrate further into the forest. Their [G 24 / slash and burn farming] spreads the area of destruction.
