ENVIRONMENT-COTE D’IVOIRE: The Knock-on Effect of Disappearing Forests

By Aly Ouattara Reprint | | Print |

Aly Ouattara and Michée Boko

KORHOGO, Northern Côte d'Ivoire, Jul 8 2007 (IPS) - Sogbéné Soro claims to be able to treat a variety of ailments: leprosy, diarrhea and ringworm to name a few. But, this traditional healer is finding it increasingly difficult to ply his trade. “I am faced with a shortage of certain plant species that have medicinal properties,” he told IPS.

Communities and loggers have destroyed the forests near Soro’s northern village where, some 15 years ago, he was able to gather the roots, leaves, bark and herbs that he makes use of. Now Soro is forced to travel much greater distances, either by motorbike or by car, to find the tools of his trade.

In addition, the encroachment on forests has caused wild animals – which healers also make use of – to become more elusive.

“Today we are faced, in the village of Koyadougou in north-western Cote d’Ivoire, with the scattering of certain animal species, of which certain parts have healing qualities,” explains Inza Fofana, a traditional healer and hunter.

“The meat and the fat of the lion, for example, help to treat fractures and ease joint pain and rheumatism. The sperm of the elephant treats impotence; the horn of the rhinoceros treats asthma.”

Surrounded by small bottles and plastic sachets filled with powders and liquids extracted from plants, Soro notes that he has been obliged to raise his prices somewhat, to cover transport costs.

Needless to say, this has not been welcomed by his clients, even if the prices of traditional remedies remain much lower than those of modern medicines – where these are available.

For the past few years, Côte d’Ivoire has been embroiled in a civil conflict that split the country into a rebel-held north and government-controlled south – the violence sparked by a failed coup in September 2002. The rebel New Forces (Forces Nouvelles) had accused government of marginalising people in the north of the country, as well as residents of foreign descent.

The conflict caused doctors and care providers – for the most part government officials – to flee the north, and pharmacies to close. Communities in this region also found themselves more reliant on traditional healers.

Several environmental groups have condemned the over-exploitation of the West African country’s forests.

According to the Ivorian Ecological Group (Groupe écologique ivoirien, GECI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the financial hub of Abidjan, of the 16 million hectares of forests that existed in Côte d’Ivoire at the start of the 1960s, just six million remain today.

Jacob N’Zi, executive director of the GECI, notes further that while 123 businesses are operating in the lumber industry, only two respect the legislation in place to protect forests. Timber companies do not observe the government quota of 2,000 to 10,000 cubic metres of wood per year, he says.

Kouadio Gnamien, a member of another NGO, Ecologia, claims this wrongdoing cost the state more than 400 million dollars between 2003 and 2006 – but that authorities also bear some responsibility for the current state of affairs.

A peace accord was signed in the Burkinabé capital of Ouagadougou four months ago, and rebel leader Guillaume Soro was later named prime minister in a power-sharing government for the country. The United Nations buffer zone between north and south was also dismantled.

However, the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire suffered a blow at the end of last month when rockets were fired at a plane transporting the prime minister in the central town of Bouake.

While Soro emerged from the attack unscathed, upwards of three people were reported to have died in the incident.

Observers noted that the attack might reflect dissatisfaction in the New Forces about the direction of the peace process, notably Soro’s decision to take on the post of prime minister under President Laurent Gbagbo.