The Philippines has suspended commercial logging contracts in the wake of storms which have left up to 1,000 dead or missing.
The country’s president Gloria Arroyo hinted that legal and illegal logging contributed to flooding and mudslides during four storms in two weeks.
Mrs Arroyo called for stiffer punishments for illegal loggers, whom she likened to “terrorists and kidnappers”. She revoked existing logging licences in the worst affected areas, while eight officials were sacked for failing to crack down on illegal felling in their areas.
Forest cover in the Philippines has fallen from about 60% in the 1920s to below 20% today.
