Overexploitation of forest resources

The extraction of wildlife resources, often carried out illegally or unsustainably, affects the landscape’s forests to varying degrees.

Poaching is very common in Liberia, particularly in the national parks, due to a high demand for bushmeat both here and in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire (CI). This demand cannot be met from the resources of the better protected Taï NP, nor from a rural area already devoid of wildlife. Wood and non-wood products can also not be sustainably exploited, either because of the inadequacy of the regulations in rural areas (CI) or because of shortcomingin the application of the law (CI and Liberia). The Ivorian and even Ghanaian markets are particularly attractive for timber products harvested in the forests near the Cavally River, including Grebo-Krahn NP, where the conservation service needs to be strengthened and equipped.

These practices all impoverish, fragment and weaken forest ecosystems, which is serious in the context of climate change.