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WHO:
International
Team of Scientists and the Ivorian Government
A total of 31 scientists, coordinators and field assistants went to the field, including twelve international and regional experts on West African plants, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fishes and insects. This bilingual RAP survey (French/English) was carried out in collaboration with Société ivoirienne pour le développement des forêts (SODEFOR), the Ivorian governmental agency that oversees management of these classified forests.
WHERE:
Haute
Dodo and Cavally Classified Forests, Côte d'Ivoire
The Haute Dodo Classified Forest area includes Mount Kopé and Mount Kédio, low altitude hills (around 500 m) located in the southwestern part of Côte d'Ivoire. This area is known as a center of high endemism (containing many species found no where else in the world) and is located between Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire and Sapo National Park, Liberia. Although some scientific studies have been carried out in the region (specifically on the chimpanzee and plant populations), very little is known overall about the flora and fauna. Cavally Classified Forest is located west of Taï National Park and little data is available from this area as well. There are many active environmental pressures including poaching, deforestation, and agriculture encroaching into these areas that are considered the most important links for a biodiversity corridor between the two parks./font>
WHAT:
Côte d'Ivoire Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) Expedition
A December 1999 Conservation Priority Setting Workshop sponsored by Conservation International (CI) in West Africa identified the need for more biological information and in-country scientific capacity to protect the biodiversity of this region. As part of the effort to meet this need, a RAP team of international scientist from thirteen different countries surveyed the Haute Dodo and Cavally Classified Forests of southwestern Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and trained regional scientists in biodiversity assessment technique. The data collected will aid local and regional conservation efforts as well as provide the biological basis for the design of a biodiversity corridor between Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia.
WHY:
Form a "West African Regional RAP Team" and assist with
local and regional conservation and management planning.
As in Guyana and Indonesia, one of the main purposes of
this RAP expedition is to train regional scientists to carry
out further biodiversity assessments. Already partially
formed after the 1998 Marahoué RAP (also in the Côte d'Ivoire),
the team plans to survey the Pic de Fon Classified Forest
in Guinea's Simandou region during December 2002. In addition
to training, the scientists on the RAP expedition collected
biological data that will help develop a management plan
for this region as a biodiversity corridor. The Haute Dodo
and Cavally Classified forests would form part of this corridor
by providing an ecological bridge between Taï (already the
largest protected forested area in West Africa) and Sapo
National Parks across the Ivorian-Liberian border.
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