"Of the 123 companies in timber exploitation, only two respect the forestry regulations," Jacob N'Zi, head of Ecological Group of Ivory Coast (Geci), told AFP.

Geci accused the firms of ignoring a 2,000 to 10,000 cubic metre annual quota imposed by authorities for timber harvesting.

"If we are not careful, at this rate Ivory Coast forests will disappear in 10 years," N'Zi said.

The size of Ivory Coast's thick tropical forests has shrunk from 16 million hectares in the 1960s to no more than six million hectares, according to official figures.

But N'Zi argues that no more than a million hectares of forest remain, part of which is occupied by the western Tai national park, a UNESCO heritage site protected with aid from the German government.

Kouadio Gnamien, head of another green advocate Ecologia, estimated that "wood fraud" cost Ivory Coast more than 200 billion CFA (300 million euros, 400 million dollars) between 2003 and 2006.

He deplored the "complicity" of public authorities whose role is to protect the forests.

The groups have asked parliament to probe the industry. Environmental issues were not a high priority during the four-year civil conflict that split Ivory Coast into a rebel-held north and government ruled south.

The former economic powerhouse ranks high among potentially big wood producers in west Africa.

In its western neighbour Liberia, timber was used to finance a civil war when former strongman Charles Taylor exchanged concessions for guns.

Experts say 13 west and central African countries together have tropical forests second only in size to the Amazon.

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