Table 1 Characteristics of the study areas
Study zones | Characteristics | Visited villages | Interviewed sociolinguistical groups |
|---|---|---|---|
Evergreen Forest zone (EF)/Taï National Park (TNP) | Status: UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve Location: Southwestern Côte d’Ivoire (5° 08′–6° 24′ N and 6° 47′–7° 25′ W) Size: 4540 km2 Vegetation: upper Guinean evergreen forest. Climate: annual rainfall ranges from a mean of 1700 mm in the north to 2200 mm in the southwest, falling from March/April to July, with a shorter wet season from September to October. Particularity: the largest island of forest remaining in West Africa, remaining relatively intact and well conserved. Main anthropogenic impacts: threatened mammal species such as the pygmy hippopotamus and 11 species of monkeys are of great scientific interest. New main region of cacao production of the country | Paulé-oula, Youkou, Tienkoula, Daobly | Oubi, Baoulé, Gouro, Sénoufo, Kroumen, Guéré |
Guinean Savanna Zone (GS)/Marahoué National Park (MNP) | Status: Endangered National Park Location: West-center (7° 05′ 49′ N–6° 01′ 32′ W) Size: 1010 km2 Vegetation: forest-savanna mosaic (Guinean savanna) Climate: mean annual precipitation varies between 1100 and 1800 mm. Two dry periods can be distinguished, stretching from November to February and from July to August. Particularity: covered with forest (2/3) and savanna. Four main habitats types occur: open canopy forest, gallery forests, forest-savanna edge, and savannas (savanna woodland, tree savannas, and shrubby savannas). Main anthropogenic impacts: illegal farming (illegal farms cover huge areas in the former forest zone), poaching, and fire. It has lost 93% of its forest cover in the last 6 years. | Bêfla, Golikro, Djahakro, N’guessankro | Gouro, Baoulé, Whan |
Sudano-Guinean savanna zone (SGS)/Comoé National Park (CNP) | Status: UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve Location: North-eastern (8° 30′–9° 40′ N and 3° 10′–4° 20′ W). Size: 11,500 km2 Climate: mean annual precipitation is around 1150 mm with a mean annual temperature of 27 °C. Vegetation: semi-natural mosaic of forest-savanna (Sudano-Guinean savanna). Particularity: many habitats ranging from forests to savannas, including all types of savanna (84%), bowal (4.9%), gallery forest (2.3%), and dry and humid forest islands Main anthropogenic impacts: uncontrolled annual fire | Kakpin, Lambira, Koebounou | Koulango, Lobi, Malinké, Lorhon |