Minister Assoa Adou confirmed their application and selected an area of 400 hectares that belonged to the protected woodland area of Anguédédou. This forest lies between Yopougon, a large borough of Abidjan, and Abobo-Ndotré, another Abidjan settlement on the road to Agboville, a city about 80 km distant from Abidjan. Environmental experts opposed this plan, as the forest is not only under nature conservancy, but also because one of Abidjan’s largest ground-water reserves - which supplies a large area in the north of this economic hub - is located here. “
That was a big mistake, and it represents a great danger to the environment and the survival of the population,” states Ambroise Diké, a forestry expert. In addition to him, other specialists advised against the plan. But Minister Assoa Adou didn’t care. He even dismissed those officials of the forestry administration who resisted this truly counterproductive measure. And in July 2005, he revoked the protected status of 400 hectares of the forest by ministerial directive.
The rest is well-known … a gigantic and ruthless exploitation of this forest began. Instead of food crops there were houses, i.e. real estate deals, businesses, mobile phone providers’ antennae … “
The worst of it is that some people have sold their plots to commercial enterprises. They have abused their power,” deplores Paul-Marie Konan, a forestry employee, who believes that no part of this forest should ever have lost its protected status.
Since then the forest of Anguédédou has been in a pitiable state. The trees are still being felled clandestinely, sometimes with the knowledge of forest management employees. In addition, some of the wells bored by the Société de Distribution d’Eau, (Water Distribution Company /Sodeci) to provide the population with drinking water have been shut down. “The fact that this forest is settled considerably worsens the functioning of the bore-holes. The population produces waste, especially sewage, faeces that settle into the soil, and since the settlements are near these bore-holes, there is a risk that the ground-water will be contaminated,“ Ousmane Touré, a hydraulic engineer, soberly notes.
In view of this – to say the least disquieting – situation, the current Minister of Forestry, Clément Nabo Bouéka, has decided to act. To start with, last December he personally got an on-site impression of just how extensive the damage to the forest of Anguédédou is by now.
damage to the forest of Anguédédou is by now.
“Everybody illegally occupying the forest will disappear,” he warned. Indeed, he even announced that the forest will be placed under nature conservancy once again. And the matter was in fact concluded some weeks ago. Minister Clément Nabo Bouéka has placed the forest of Anguédédou under nature conservancy once again by ministerial directive. Therefore everyone living there will be ordered to leave the area. “But we aren’t at that point yet. Right now, the issue is to establish the protection of the forest in law. Otherwise we cannot act, since some of the people living here have valid title deeds. And so we will make it clear to the people living here that they must be so kind and leave this location. And the houses that have been built will be destroyed,“ explains Lt. Colonel Arafan Haidara, a forestry engineer and director of reforestation and the forest registry. Meanwhile, Synacos, the National Association of Civil Servants for Forest Development (Sodefor/Société de Développement des Fôrets), is welcoming the government’s decision to place the forest of Anguédédou under protection once again.
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This is a victory for us. This is the successful conclusion of a struggle that we have been carrying out for more than six years,” Yao Koffi Georges, the association’s general secretary, says happily. According to him, the deforestation of the Forêt d’Anguédédou is a drama for the Ivory Coast. And the forestry official elaborates: “
Because protecting a healthy environment is of the greatest importance to us, we unyieldingly opposed the revocation of the protected status of this forest. We had no support in this, and some of my colleagues have even lost their jobs because of it.” In his view, the government must enact a law in the legislature that prohibits revocation of the forests’ protected status generally, as he says, “to prevent the illicit destruction of the forest.”
In the meantime, the forest of Anguédédou is setting about re-conquering its lost area. However, the greatest task has yet to be accomplished: getting the thousands of people who have built their homes and settled in here to leave. That will clearly be no walk in the park…
Translation: Edit Watts
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A. Kurz
