Value of the forest-Ehy Tanoé Marsh (South-eastern Ivory Coast) for conservation: Socio-nthropological dimension

The Tanoé-Ehy Forest, identified by the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS) as a top priority site for primate conservation in West Africa is prone to high anthropogenic pressures: poaching, uncontrolled harvesting of natural resources, logging and agricultural clearings. Unlike traditional policies of conservation of ecosystems characterized by the exclusion of local communities, a pilot program for community management of this forest was initiated in September 2006 with local residents. A good understanding of socio-economic and anthropological factors underpinning the relationships of the local communities with the forest is required to understand the determiners of success and sustainability of such a program. In a qualitative approach, with comprehensive, functionalist, and interactionist analysis tools, this study demonstrates how the existence of the Tanoé-Ehy Forest is crucial for the preservation of livelihoods for local residents and the maintenance of their sociocultural references. The study thus demonstrates that the conservation value of the Tanoé-Ehy Forest extends beyond the specificity of its biodiversity and finally gives clues for a proper consideration of the socio-anthropological dimension of the conservation of this heritage. © Didié Armand Zadou, Inza Kone, Vincent Kouassi Mouroufie, Constant Yves Adou Yao, Epiphanie K. Gleanou, Yves Aka Kablan Djakalidja Coulibaly and Jonas Guéhi Ibo.