Deforestation and managerial scales in Côte d’Ivoire

ABSTRACTWe provide evidence that a factor contributing to the specific patterns of deforestation in Cote d’Ivoire is the set of spatial units of management used to structure wood extraction. Timber harvests were organized through a system of harvest perimeters, called “chantier,” for nearly a century. Chantiers were initiated as managerial instruments. However, their use as spatial tool for profit maximization led to positional anarchy. The lack of support for sustainable harvests from the legislation, the restoration system, and the tree-based policy governing the use of their content made the chantier the basis of a one-way resources extraction. Managerial scales facilitated clearing of forests. None served to regenerate forests. Using historical and official documents, satellite and cartographic data, we attempted to demonstrate how managerial scales aiming to organize logging have contributed to deforestation. We discuss the phases of fragmentation in the rainforest, the managerial scales, and the env...