Rainforest Woes

The Ugandan government is attempting to give 17,500 acres of rainforest the axe. Literally. They intend to revoke the protected status of a portion of the Mabira Forest and give the land to a sugar cane company for clearing. Only about 15% of Uganda's land is still forested and approximately 2% of those forests are lost each year to clearing for farming and cattle. The forests mean life to the locals, providing firewood, charcoal, herbal medicine, edible fruits and timber. A recent study has shown that nine species of wildlife found only in the Mabira Forest, including a shrub used to treat malaria, would be in danger of extinction.

The rainforest is already disappearing at an alarming rate without government's actually offering up protected areas for deforestation. If only 15% of the entire country is forested, there shouldn't there be plenty of places that are already cleared and suitable for sugar cane?