Record-high felling may extinct cedar in Far East.

VLADIVOSTOK, January 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Korean cedar may fully extinct
in the Far East in 15 years if the felling of the tree continues at the
2009 level, environmentalists warned local authorities on Friday.
Spokeswoman of the Amur branch of the World Wildlife Fund Starostina
told Tass cedar felling was record high in the Far East in 2009 and some
190 thousand cubic meters of timber were produced. In 1998-2008 cedar
population in the Far East dropped 27 percent, according to data that
includes no illegal felling figures.
"By ruining taiga ecosystem we are actually ruining tiger habitat,"
Starostina said.
Environmentalists propose to include Korean cedar into the Red Book of
endangered plants.
Starostina said the situation was discussed by a corresponding
committee of Primorye legislature and lawmakers asked the governor to
adopt additional normative acts that would limit the felling of Korean
cedar in 2010.
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