The world’s leading grower of cocoa, Ivory Coast is confronting the mounting problem of deforestation by evicting tens of thousands of illegal cocoa farmers from its eight national parks, five nature reserves and 231 forest preserves, says Reuters. The eviction campaign is one of the nation’s last chances to save its dwindling virgin forests, but could mean a large decline in production of its major cash crop, which is the source of chocolate.
Cocoa supplies 15 percent of GDP in Ivory Coast, says Reuters. Various estimates say the country grows from one-third to nearly 40 percent of the world’s cocoa. Two-thirds of the population of 23 million are engaged in agriculture. Besides cocoa, Ivory Coast is a significant exporter of coffee and palm oil. Located on the western coast of Africa, Ivory Coast is roughly the size of New Mexico.
A survey by scientists of 23 of Ivory Coast’s protected lands found three-quarters of the forests were cleared for cocoa farming. Production in those 23 areas was equal to 13 percent of the total for the country. “It’s inevitable that production will fall with the eviction of the farmers,” a cocoa exporter told Reuters. But the Swiss Center for Scientific Research in Ivory Coast says deforestation has a long-term deleterious effect on cocoa plantations – yields drop as the micro-climate evolves to a pattern of less rainfall.