excerpt:
Logging Co. Returns Rainforest Land
By Judie Glave
Associated Press Writer
Friday, July 6, 2001; 6:39 PM
NEW YORK -- A pristine Central African rainforest dense with gorillas,
chimpanzees and forest elephants will be left wild after a logging company
said Friday it would return the land to the Republic of Congo.
The 100-square-mile Goualogo Triangle contains mahogany and other valuable
hardwoods that, if harvested, could bring $1.5 million a year to the
country's fragile economy.
Congolaise Industrielle des Bois, a private timber company, announced the
deal Friday with Republic of Congo leaders and representatives of the New
York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
Timber company President Hinrich Stoll said the sacrifice was economically
difficult, but protecting the forest was the right decision. The logging
company received nothing for the land.
"We're giving up one of the richest places on earth," he said. "We all
realize that this is worth the sacrifice."
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