When I got there and we were travelling to our base camp we were told that there was some type of invasive beetle that kills the trees so a lot of the logging was "preventitive" so that way it did not continue to spread. I personally think that was just an excuse for them to cut more down. The main problem exists with poverty. Many of the locals in that region live in nothing more than shacks with tin roofs. They currently do not make enough money to be able to support their family in terms of food and cut firewood so this is the easiest option for them. It really is a dichotomy of interests because while you never want the logging to occur within a national park you can't help but understand what the people are going through. The organization I am associated with conducts largescale wildlife surveys but also has a social science division that deals with finding ways for the locals to make significantly more money for their crops like coffee, honey, orchids, and dried fruits so if all goes in the direction it has been, the logging and hunting of animals within the park should theoretically stop.
