Earth Day: Seeds planted to help reforestation of Beki Forest

The decrease in the forest cover of the Ivory Coast workers from the government-funded forest management agency, clear weeds to help precious shrubs. After germination, they are sent for plantation in the Beki forest.

Beki Forest: Ivory Coast's forests have shrunk from 16 million hectares of forests to less than 3 million, according to the European Union (European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan). Only 500,000 hectares of primary forest still remain intact.

In the heart of Beki Forest, Teak (tecto nagradis) and Bete or Mansonia (Mansonia altissima) compete for light, so workers from government-funded forest management agency, SODEFOR, clear weeds to help precious shrubs.

Their next task is to collect seeds from mature trees. Lieutenant Diarra Fousseni from SODEFOR explains why it's important.

"The Ivorian forest cover has really been destroyed, and we feel the effects of this destruction today. And it is really imperative for all Ivorians, in particular everyone involved in environmental protection and sustainable forest management, to get involved in the reconstruction of the Ivorian forest," he says.

Seeds are shaken from trees and then collected using plastic bags.

"Teak trees arrived in the Ivory Coast and seed harvesting took place when they were 30 to 40-years-old. But with forestry research, with the work that has been done on the species, we managed to reduce that age to 15 to 20 years. So, from 15-years-old to 20-years-old, teak can be harvested for seeds," explains Fousseni.

Teak has been grown in the Ivory Coast for about 40 years. Once collected, seeds are transported to the Adzopé nursery, located 110 kilometres (68 miles) from the Beki tree nursery.

The seeds must be sorted, those of poor quality are removed. This careful task is done by a team of mostly female workers. Konan N'Guessan Amoin, a mother of five, has been working for three years. She earns 2,000 francs a day, equivalent to three US dollars a day.

She says the scheme has provided her with an income.

"The forest management agency helped me find a job. Before, it was very difficult for me to get by, but now, thanks to this job, I am able to organise myself," she says.

Team leader Ambemou Suzanne explains their chore:

"It's a little complicated to sort the seeds, we're asked to use a certain method. Five bags a day, so it's not easy. To sort one kilogram of this product, it is not easy to fill it. But with teak, you have to break it and you have to put in the basket, you can fill at least seven to eight bags a day," she says.

Next, they're sent to the lab, where lab technician Salahu Djibril takes a sample of 100 seeds to check their quality in detail, under the microscope.

"Based on the sorting that the women have done outside, there is a sample that we make that will serve us at the laboratory-level. This is what we call our lab sample here. It is from this sample that all the other analyses will follow," says Djibril.

If the lab sample is of good quality, the rest of the seeds of that batch are considered suitable for planting.

The seeds are then returned to Beki forest for germination. The SODEFOR team tends carefully to the young saplings.

Environmental expert Marcel Yao of REFACC (Network of African experts on Forests, Agriculture and Climate Change) says such projects are vital for the future of the country's forests and economy.

The Ivorian government wants to extend the scheme to 2030 to replenish the country's forests.

Wednesday (22 April) marks the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day, an annual event to celebrate the protection of our environment.

The first Earth Day, the brainchild of the late Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, happened in 1970 and sparked an environmental movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and many laws to protect water, air and wildlife.

(With inputs from AP)