Pression anthropique et dynamique paysagère en zone de forêt ivoirienne dans la région de Méagui

Abstract

Anthropogenic Pressure and Landscape Dynamics in the Ivoirian Forest Area in the Meagui Region. In Ivory Coast, population density increased from 8 inhabitants/km² in 1950 to 71 inhabitants/km² in 2014. The population growth impulse strong dynamics of settlement and generated an increase of the cultivated surfaces. To visualize these dynamics in the area of Meagui, a diachronic study was realized on settlement and landscape on a transect from Meagui town (East) to National Park of Taï (West), covering a surface of 233 km². The combination of field information and analysis of LANDSAT satellite imagery taken at different dates (1986, 2002 and 2014) allowed to discriminate settlement dynamics and land-use patterns. From 6 units of settlements, identified in the eastern part of the zone in the early 1975s, the number was increased to 489 in 2016. In the same time, the forest, which occupied 40% of the area studied in 1986, had almost disappeared in 2014, in favor of perennial crops (more than 90%). The total population density is estimated at 416 inhabitants/km², i.e 6 times most important than the national density. These results show how important the population/resource problem is in Ivory Coast.

Keywords

• Settlement dynamics
• Pioneer front
• Deforestation
• Tai National Park
• Meagui
• Côte d'Ivoire