Crops and Natural Resources
Ivory Coast has a large timber industry due to its large forest coverage. The nation's hardwood exports match that of Brazil. In recent years there has been much concern about the rapid rate of deforestation. Rainforests are being destroyed at a rate sometimes cited as the highest in the world. The only forest left completely untouched in Ivory Coast is Taï National Park (Parc National de Taï), a 3,600 km2 (1,390 sq mi) area in the country's far southwest that is home to over 150 endemic species and many other endangered species such as the Pygmy Hippopotamus and 11 species of monkeys.
Eight percent of the country is arable land. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, a major national cash crop. Other chief crops include coffee, bananas, and oil palms, which produce palm oil and kernels. Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron, cobalt, bauxite, copper, and hydropower. There are more foreigners than Ivorians. Foreigners currently make up 67% of the country's population.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Ivory Coast
Famous quotes containing the words crops, natural and/or resources:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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