Saved: Liberia's rainforests win reprieve from logging West Africa's biggest rainforest has won a reprieve from destruction with Liberia's government cancelling dozens of illegal logging permits, saving up to 10,000 square miles from being cleared. The Daily Telegraph reported from Liberia in June on how the government had granted 63 licences allowing companies to cut down 58 per cent of all the primary rainforest left in the country. These "Private Use Permits" were awarded by officials answering to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize who became the first female elected leader in African history. All of the licences were handed out in breach of Liberia's own law, generally to companies backed by Malaysian and Chinese investors. At first, Mrs Sirleaf responded by freezing the distribution of new permits, without cancelling any existing ones. Earlier this month, however, her government began revoking the illegal licences: so far, 29 have been withdrawn and the authorities are in the process of cancelling the remaining 34. "This is a tremendous victory for Liberia's rainforest," said Chloe Fussell from Global Witness, a campaign group which first highlighted the case. We're extremely pleased to see the Liberian government doing the right thing over this. It's a landmark moment. Outside pressure and publicity were crucial to persuading Mrs Sirleaf to change course. "This was too big to be ignored: it really was fraud and corruption on a massive scale," said Ms Fussell. For once, the contracts that shouldn't have been allocated are now being cancelled. Mrs Sirleaf values her international reputation: she sits alongside David Cameron as co-chair of a United Nations panel on the future of international development. In February, Mr Cameron became the first British Prime Minister to visit Liberia. However, the illegal granting of logging permits on a huge scale threatened to tarnish Mrs Sirleaf. Powerful Asian business interests were drawn by the fact that Liberia possesses the biggest surviving rainforest in West Africa. They are believed to have bought the logging permits from corrupt officials. In region which has been systematically stripped of its trees, just over half of Liberia is still covered by primary rainforest. A civil war which lasted for 14 years and ended only in 2003 helps to explain why timber companies neglected to cut down this forest. Now that Mrs Sirleaf is revoking the illegal logging permits, campaigners hope that it will stay intact.