Deforestation in southern Côte d’Ivoire: a high-resolution remote sensing approach

Abstract

The assessment of deforestation and the understanding of the processes involved at the local scale, need the use of high-resolution satellite images, together with field observations. The results are compared with the ones obtained with low resolution images. Vegetation and land use maps of 3 sites in the forest zone of Cote d’Ivoire (Yapo, Divo and Zagne) show various intensities of deforestation. The Zagne study reconstructs the history of forest fragmentation with an old map made with aerial photographs and three satellite images. Management of national forestry heritage is not adapted to the processes involved; more than half of the “forets classees” can be considered as non-forest. Outside protected areas, primary and secondary forests have completely disappeared, except in land managed under traditional land ownership systems. Conservation needs to be in harmony with short and long term interests of local communities.