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A preserved ecosystem with resilient communities
The Cavally Natural Reserve is a 67,541-hectare protected area in western Côte d'Ivoire and part of a forest corridor linking Taï National Park with protected areas in neighbouring Liberia. Home to endangered species including chimpanzees and pygmy hippopotamuses, the reserve is one of the country's most important remaining forest ecosystems.
In 2017, Earthworm Foundation and SODEFOR began using Starling, the satellite monitoring solution co-developed with Airbus, to better understand and monitor cocoa-driven deforestation in the reserve.
The resulting analysis revealed significant forest degradation and highlighted the need for a broader response. Since 2020, Earthworm Foundation, government agencies, companies and local communities have worked together to protect and restore the forest while strengthening the resilience of people living around it. Today, the Cavally Landscape project combines forest conservation, restoration, sustainable agriculture and community development to address the drivers of deforestation and support long-term change.
Encouraged by the positive impact reached by mid-2023, the partnership has now renewed its commitment to June 2026 with improved metrics and additional partners supporting the Cavally Landscape project, including the Swiss government (SECO), Touton, Cocoasource, Barry Callebaut, and ASAF for the rubber industry. One of the learnings from the first phase was that cocoa and rubber smallholders living at the periphery of the forest reserve might be tempted to encroach onto the protected area, looking for fertile soils to establish plantations. Collaborating with stakeholders from the cocoa and rubber sectors aims to jointly stop deforestation and fight poverty without merely shifting problems from one sector to another.
In September 2023, the Ivoirian Council of Ministers issued a decree changing the status of the Classified Forest to a Natural Forest Reserve, which leads to a higher protection level of the reserve. Consequently, the new governmental partners to the project are the Ministry of the Environment, Sustainable Development, and Ecological Transition (MINEDDTE) and the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves (OIPR) for the Cavally Forest management.
Transformative efforts are underway in our Côte d'Ivoire landscape, to safeguard the precious Cavally Forest Reserve through our collaborative project with local communities, the Ivorian Ministry of Water and Forests, and Nestlé in Phase 1 of the project. Initiated in 2020, this initiative focuses on regenerating the forest ecosystem while empowering local residents. From significant reductions in deforestation rates to providing entrepreneurial opportunities for women and enhancing agricultural practices, Phase 1 of the Cavally project has made tangible impacts.
Click here to read the Cavally Phase 1 Report (in English) and Rapport Cavally Phase 1 (in French).
Reduced deforestation rate from 3.78% in 2018 to 0.04% at the end of 2025 in the Cavally Forest Reserve.
Higher economic and social resilience among local communities – 1’442 women and 406 men having access to Village Savings and Loans Associations, 1’395 producers engaged in establishing agroforestry systems, 2’371 producers coached on Good Agricultural and Environmental practices & 850 children received birth certificates
2’500 ha reforested and more than 10’000 ha of natural regeneration in the Cavally Natural Forest Reserve
Cavally is one of the key ecosystems where Earthworm Foundation works through its landscapes approach.
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