The clangs of the men’s chisels and hammers were deafening as they dismantled a rusty truck, the din only fading as it reached the dense forest encircling them.
The mechanics were working in the biggest junkyard in Ivory Coast, where the skeletons of thousands of disused vans, buses and taxis spread out endlessly and engine oil soaked into the muddy soil.
But they were also working inside the confines of Banco National Park, one of the world’s last primary rainforests to survive within a major metropolis. The park is an endangered gem of lush greenery in the busy economic hub of Abidjan, an oasis that the Ivorian authorities are trying to revitalize, despite all of the environmental threats it faces.
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