Successive crises in Cote d'Ivoire had a negative impact on the West African country's environment, the UN environment agency said on Monday.

Speaking in Abidjan, the head of the delegation of experts from the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), Samantha Newport, said the evaluation to ascertain this impact had begun following a request by Cote d'Ivoire's government.

"The evaluation will mainly examine the environmental consequences related to issues such as degradation of national parks and classified forests," Newport said.

She said her team will also be interested in other environmental threats such as the Ebrie lagoon, coastal erosion and environmental governance.

Cote d'Ivoire has witnessed a number of political crises including the 1999 coup d'etat, the 2002-2003 civil war and the 2010-2011 post-election violence.

The country's environment suffered the collateral effects of those turmoils amid reports of illegal exploitation and occupation of the protected zones.

Facing the degradation, authorities have decided to seek expert support in developing a new environmental policy.