The 340,000-hectare Taï National Park in Côte d'Ivoire is one of the last remnants of undisturbed equatorial rain forest in West Africa. It is surrounded by a 66,000 ha buffer zone, which, amongst others, is designated to serve the interests of the local people, and to protect the core area from disturbances such as encroachment and poaching. Due to rapid population growth, the buffer zone is now under considerable pressure from farmers and other land users. Especially near the larger villages, land belonging to the buffer zone is used for shifting cultivation and perennial crops, or has been logged for timber. The large influx of settlers from other parts of the country has made traditional control of land use by local chiefs ineffective. Alternative land uses, more compatible with the buffer function than shifting cultivation, seem possible, and are to be considered. In order to help preserve the forest in the National Park, the Tropenbos Foundation supports research on the design of appropriate buffer zone management strategies. In 1989, a project entitled 'Appropriate buffer zone management strategies for the Taï National Park' was submitted to serve as a research framework. Several research subjects were defined to develop suitable buffer zone management strategies, and to contribute to the rehabilitation of destroyed forest cover. This publication describes the outcome of one of the preliminary studies, which focused on the possibilities of using remote sensing data for classification and monitoring actual land use and consequences of former use. Classification results in (potential) land use maps of the area, required for the planning of the sustainable use of the buffer zone and other areas surrounding the park. Monitoring is essential to ensure sustainable management of the buffer zone.