IVORY COAST

The Cote of Ivoire government hastaken a long overdue step tocheck heedless deforestation.In mid-September, theForest Protection Councilinstituted a ban on theexport of all unprocessedwood. "The export of tim-ber, even semi-processed willnot be allowed", declared agovernment statement.

The governmentwelcome as 300,000 tonnesOf raw timber used to be shipped abroad annually, representing between 75 and 80 per cent of all timber in mom y The aim is also noore that at least 20 per ofour national forests oding national parks in untouched." The government directive IF signals hope for the copioited forest resources of the West African country.