Development of the Cocoa Economy and Landscape Configuration in Western Côte d’Ivoire

This study hypothesizes that population movements in search of agricultural land in western Côte d’Ivoire have intensified land pressure, leading to significant landscape modification in this region. The objective of this study is to determine the spatial transformations occurring in the landscape of western Côte d’Ivoire following the development of cocoa cultivation, using the Biankouma Department as a case study. To achieve this, remote sensing techniques and principles of landscape ecology were applied to identify the spatial transformation processes observed in western Côte d’Ivoire. During the study period, the land cover units in the Biankouma Department experienced varying degrees of change. Indeed, the landscape of the study area, once dominated by forest and savanna patches, is now mainly characterized by cocoa plantations and savanna patches. The regression of forest and savanna areas during the study period is illustrated by the disappearance of their patches from the landscape. Conversely, the spatial transformation processes observed for the classes of cocoa plantations, degraded forest, cropland and fallow, and bare soil and settlement, are characterized by creation. In an effort to assist authorities in decision-making regarding land-use planning and natural resource conservation in this area, the study aims to model this landscape.