COTE D'IVOIRE

Cote dIvoire has the highest level of biodiversity in West Africa, with over 1,200 animal species, and 4,700 plant species. However, this biodiversity is threatened by deforestation; less than 2% of the countrys land is covered by primary forest and less than one third has any forest left at all. Since gaining independence in 1960, Cote dIvoires forested area has fallen from 16 million ha to 10 million ha.

During the 1960s-70s, timber exports were of major economic importance, ranking third behind cocoa and coffee as an export earner. However, over-exploitation depleted many of the countrys tropical timber resources. Agricultural encroachment and uncontrolled fires also contributed to the decline of the countrys forests. The descent into civil war in 1999 worsened this situation, with the illegal timber trade playing a role in abetting the conflict.

Prior to the conflict, the Cote d'Ivoire government made attempts to prioritise conservation, setting aside17% of the country in protected areas and taking measures against illegal logging, poaching, and settler encroachment in national parks. Raw log exports were banned and plantations encouraged and deforestation rates began to decline sharply - the period from 1990-2005 saw a total forest loss of only 1.8%.

Although the conflict is officially over, the country is still in a precarious situation under an interim government. UN peacekeepers remain at their posts and sanctions are still in place. The future for forest conservation is, therefore, unclear.

Cote dIvoire is a signatory to the Accra Declaration which resulted from a FAO/ITTO workshop held in Accra, Ghana in July 2008, which explored the problems and possible solutions to the illegal extraction of forest resources in tropical West Africa.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
01/09/2009	Statistics 2008 Timber trade statistics from a number of Central and West African countries for 2007-2008. ...	ATIBT (Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux)
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20/10/2008	Cross-border flows of timber and wood products in West Africa Recognizing that regional and cross-border timber trade may have important implications for the FLEGT ...	European Commission
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01/02/2008	Forest Products Trade between China and Africa: An Analysis of Imports and Exports Recent media coverage of China's efforts to secure access to natural resources in Africa suggests ...	Forest Trends (Kerstin Canby, James Hewitt, Luke Bailey, Eugenia Katsigris, Sun Xiufang)
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25/05/2006	Status of Tropical Forest Management 2005 Is forest management improving in the tropics? This report sets out to answer that question. It provides ...	ITTO
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14/09/2004	Resource Curse or Cure? Reforming Liberia's governance and logging industry A policy briefing submitted by Global Witness to the UN Security Council arguing the case for renewal ...	Global Witness
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
17/07/2010	Africa looks to vast forests for carbon credit Banco, Ivory Coast - They inhabit a polluted part of Ivory Coast’s main city with few jobs and ...	Arab News
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30/04/2010	Cote d’Ivoire military may intervene against deforestation Marine and forest guards are not enough and support from the military is necessary to save these natural ...	CoastWeek.com
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08/08/2008	Africa: New Technology to Sever Timbers Link to Conflict? New York, USA - While conflict diamonds or blood diamonds, as they are known, have gained attention the ...	IPS (Italy)
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18/06/2008	Fish and timber in West Africa need more sustainable EU policies say MEPs Fish and timber are natural resources often not managed in a sustainable way in West Africa due to inadequate ...	European Parliament (EU)
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02/10/2006	The scramble for Africa What is the future for resource-rich post-conflict African nations? ...	The Statesman (Ghana)
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22/01/2006	Goodbye to West Africa's rainforests West Africa's once verdant and extensive rainforests are now a historical footnote. Gone to build ...	Mongabay.com
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23/12/2004	Cote d'Ivoire: Civil war allows rampant illegal logging Bouafle, Cote d'Ivoire - Two years of civil war have broken down law and order across Cote d'Ivoire, ...	Reuters (UK)
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26/10/2004	Illegal logging adding fuel to fire in conflict-torn west of Ivory Coast Though fewer logging trucks rumble down the roads in western Ivory Coast than used to, the timber industry ...	Agence France Presse
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11/04/2004	Liberia: Environmentalists report illegal logging Monrovia - A Liberian environmental group has reported illegal timber exports from in the rebel-controlled ...	IRIN Africa
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02/02/2004	Tropical Wood Exploited In Ivory Coast The division of Ivory Coast following the civil war in 2002 has provided an opportunity for criminals ...	VOANews.com
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EVENTS

DATE	TITLE
Tuesday 15th July 2008	FAO/ITTO Regional Workshop on Improving Forest Law Compliance and Governance in Tropical West Africa Over the past two years, FAO and ITTO have assisted countries in the Amazon region, Central Africa, Central ...
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Monday 6th December 2004	Commission For Africa ' Forest Programme Brainstorm A brainstorming session on illegal logging held in part to feed into the Commission for Africa Report, ...
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