. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Africa. Now an iiHUsuai ^ni in ClU J 1 it/ l i a fai Ui tlu t\e can see. This is a view from Mr Nienokoue over tht Hana River and Tai National Park. F. Lauginie/WWF bum agriculturalists. Smallholder coffee and cacao plantations were also a major cause of large-scale forest clearance. Indeed, throughout this period, government policies actively encouraged the conversion of the forest to these plantations. In the mid-1970s, the process accelerated through a cacao and coffee boom and affected the still largely forested south-western part of the countr
. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Africa. Now an iiHUsuai ^ni in ClU J 1 it/ l i a fai Ui tlu t\e can see. This is a view from Mr Nienokoue over tht Hana River and Tai National Park. F. Lauginie/WWF bum agriculturalists. Smallholder coffee and cacao plantations were also a major cause of large-scale forest clearance. Indeed, throughout this period, government policies actively encouraged the conversion of the forest to these plantations. In the mid-1970s, the process accelerated through a cacao and coffee boom and affected the still largely forested south-western part of the country. Mass immigration from impoverished and drought-stricken Sahelian countries further contributed to a rapid spread of cultivated areas. South-west Cote d'lvoire, however, still possesses around 10,000 sq. km of forest in gazetted reserves and this includes the 3500 sq. km Tai National Park. Conservation efforts should be directed at preserving this Upper Guinea Refuge Area as it is exceptionally rich in endemic plant and animal species. Biodiversity Cote d'lvoire contains some of the most important sites for bio- logical diversity in West Africa. Of particular importance is the Tai National Park and the contiguous N'Zo Faunal Reserve. These include the largest area of undisturbed lowland rain forest in West Africa and are an important centre of diversity for many species of plants and animals. Around 4700 species of plant occur in the country, including 90 or so endemics (Davis el at., 1986). Mt Nimba, with over 2000 species, is particularly rich, while some 1300 plant species have been recorded in Tai. There are 17 species of primate in Cote d'lvoire (Oates, 1986) and five of them are listed as threatened (Lee ei al., 1988). These include the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes of which there is a well- known tool-using population in Tai National Park. Other threat- ened primates are the red-capped mangabey Cercocebiis torquatus, the olive colobus Procolobus venis, the western red col
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Keywords: ., bhlconsortium, bookc, bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodiversity
