Deforestation and logging do not increase the risk of major floods, according to a new report. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor) say the evidence shows no link. Loss of forest cover does play a role in smaller floods and in the loss of fertile topsoil, it says. It accuses Asian governments of blaming floods on small-scale loggers and farmers to deflect criticism. Widespread but wrong The belief that deforestation causes major floods and increases the damage which they do appears to be widespread. China's catastrophic floods of 1998, when the...
