Ivory Coast : Development Vs. Environment

Ivory Coast might not strike you as a country with vast biodiversity unlike let's say, New Zealand. However, like many other countries in the African Continent, Ivory Coast is a place where forests cover about a third of the land area and these are ideal for the well being of numerous species, especially endangered monkeys. 

Ivory Coast's bane in terms of environment is deforestation. Indeed, with a rate of 0.1% deforestation rate (halving from 6M ha to 3M ha from 1920 to 2007 the surface covered by forests), it is now considered that 49 tree species are "vulnerable" and 5 are endangered or critically endangered. Reasons for deforestation are of course logging and replacing the trees by other, more useful types in terms of development.

In terms of fauna, the most emblematic species is of course the elephant which gave the country its name. While it used to be abundant, it is now also endangered because of repeated poaching for its ivory tusks. This resembles the story of the dodo, which now is the symbol of Mauritius as it became extinct because of man. As a result, Ivorian elephants can now only be seen in parks and some remote places in forests.

These two are only examples of some of the species that are threatened by extinction. Still, Ivory Coast's government has decided to take measures in order to prevent this ongoing process. Some of its plans have met with great success such as the return of animals into wildlife like the giraffe and the black rhinoceros. There are now as many as eight national parks and over 300 nature reserves thanks to the government's initiatives.

So, it can be seen that Ivory Coast is a good example of the struggle between preserving the environment and development as the latter often depends on logging. As a result, species become endangered and then governments have to take action in order to restore what has been destroyed. It has been the case in countless countries, such as Haiti or Brazil.

Sébastien.

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20cotedivoire.htm

http://www.carbon-biodiversity.net/Content/ShortProfiles/Cote%20d'Ivoire%20Profile%20110408_final.pdf

http://ivorycoastseenbyfmrs.blogspot.fr/2014_11_01_archive.html

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire#Faune_et_flore 

Images :

http://www.amazingdata.com/Image/amazing_fun_ecology_2000059262172582463_rs_200907232055069718.jpg

http://www.natgeocreative.com/comp/02/766/1260701.jpg

http://www.geoado.com/files/elephant-ivoire-defenses.jpg

http://delhigreens.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/development-vs-envirnoment-300x230.jpg