Sustainable Development in Ivory Coast

Sustainable Development Project Proposal

Ivory Coast

Geography 101B

UVic

Zoya Khurana

Madison Yesaki

Marc Doucette

Changwei Lu

Finn Hill-Ramier

Emma Cunningham

Introduction

Although it is one of the smallest countries of Africa, Ivory Coast is a country of extraordinary cultural richness. Ivory Coast is a French-speaking country in West Africa. Early trade with Europe was based on ivory, which gave the country its name-Cote d’Ivoire in French or Ivory Coast in English. It is a roughly square-shaped country that is located on the Gulf of Guinea, covering 322,000 square kilometers. Most of the country consists of a low plateau, sloping gradually southward to the Gulf of Guinea. The plateau is broken by hills in the North and by the Man Mountains in the West. Most people still live in villages, usually with dirt roads. Their houses are cone-shaped and have thatched roofs. Less than half the population lives in towns and cities. Most people are poor and live mostly in overcrowded slums without running water, electricity, or other modern conveniences. Many of the current social problems in Ivory Coast arise from difficult economic conditions. Despite the beauty of Ivory Coast and the abundance of natural resources, Ivory Coast remains one of the poorest countries in the world today, with about 50% of the total population living below the poverty line. It has a literacy rate of about 48.7%, with the female literacy rate around 38.6%. Poor education, especially poor female education explains the high teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rates in Ivory Coast. Those who live in poverty lack adequate housing and schools, as well as decent health care, clean water, and electricity. Poverty has also resulted in an increase in crime, including violent crime, which is found especially in cities such as Abidjan. Another issue that Ivory Coast battles with is the decreasing amounts of forests due to rampant deforestation and overpopulation....