Cote d'Ivoire Aims to Cover 20% of Its Territory With Forests by 2030
© Getty Images / DEA / L. ROMANO
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With the exception of protected areas like national parks and reserves, and certain classified forests most forests in Cote d'Ivoire are either heavily damaged or only in the early stages of regrowth.
Cote d'Ivoire aims to cover 20% of its territory with forests by 2030, according to Ivorian Minister of Water and Forests Laurent Tchagba.
The strategy involves:
The integration of sustainable agricultural practices;
The promotion of agroforestry as a resilient development model;
The promotion of quality forest products from sustainable production.
To achieve these objectives, the country is following the National Strategy for the Preservation, Rehabilitation, and Extension of Forests and the National Strategy for the Promotion of Forest Products, the minister explained on March 21 during the celebration of the International Day of Forests.
"It is our duty as citizens and decision-makers to reconcile forest protection with sustainable food production," Tchagba said.
In the last 100 years, Cote d'Ivoire has lost significant forest cover, shrinking from approximately 16 million hectares to under 3 million hectares, with only 500,000 hectares of primary forest left, according to Cote d'Ivoire's recent National Forest and Wildlife Inventory.
