Gabon is home to the second largest forest in the Congo Basin.
The Government of Gabon has made a commitment to managing and protecting its forests.
In addition to biodiversity management, a national eco-tourism program is also underway.
LIBREVILLE, January 16, 2009 — On a sunny day in December, 72 eco-guards are receiving training completion certificates. This is the second group of employees to receive capacity-building surveillance training in Gabon’s national parks.
Once the guards reach their designated assignments at each of the country’s 13 national parks, they will receive a second round of training provided by experienced rangers.
The training of its eco-guards is just part of a larger effort by the Government of Gabon to focus on both the sustainable management of its forests and biodiversity protection.
In 2002 the Government, noting the economic and social importance of the forest sector to the national economy, made a commitment to adopt a new approach to the management of forest resources based on conservation and sustainability.
As part of the approach, the Government launched a sectoral program on forests, fisheries, and the environment (Programme Sectoriel Forêt, Pêche et Environnement, PSFE), with the assistance of several of its international partners, among them the African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Union, the United States, and the World Bank.
Today, the program is helping focus government activities in two directions—the sustainable management of forest resources and the local processing of timber with a view to creating greater value for the industry.
A national resource
Gabon has the second largest forest in the Congo basin—home to the second biggest forest reserve in the world after the Amazon. Forests cover over three-quarters of the country’s territory (more than 22 million hectares) and include more than 400 timber species, including the prized Okoumé, 150 mammal species and 650 bird species. The forestry sector accounts for up to 60 percent of non-oil GDP and is the second largest source of foreign currency (after oil) and formal employment (after the public sector).
World Bank support for the forest sector has two objectives and is consistent with Gabon's 2005-2009 Country Assistance Strategy: to support diversification of the economy by strengthening the transparency and effectiveness of public finance management and natural resources in particular, and to foster an environment conducive to private sector development, with a view to improving social indicators.
To achieve these objectives, the Bank has agreed to provide budget support in the amount of US$15 million, the aim of which is to assist with the institutional reforms necessary for the optimal and efficient management of national forests. Among other things, Bank assistance seeks to encourage open and public discussion of the management of public resources, thereby laying the foundation for transparent, sustainable, and equitable management of Gabon's natural wealth.
Emphasis will be placed on the publication of schedules, zoning permits and revenue projections, the return of delinquent permits to the property office, and third-party monitoring aimed at controlling illegal activities.
Taking care of Gabon’s natural treasure
A second area of budget support from the Bank is a US$10 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The aim of this assistance is to build the institutional and operational capacity of the National Parks Service (Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, ANPN), whose mission is to implement the government protection, awareness-building, and biodiversity management program via the national parks network.
Human resource capacity-building is an essential part of the objective and Gabon’s eco-guards play a crucial role. Their mission is to monitor and protect national parks, collect data on environmental conditions, and build awareness among local populations on environmental protection issues. They are recruited through a public call for candidacy circulated in villages, prefectures, and administrative offices in the areas bordering national parks.
The guards are trained for a period of three months, during which the successful candidates learn biology, geology, public awareness-building techniques, data collection methodology, and forest navigation.
Beyond conservation, eco-tourism
Beyond the mere conservation of resources and biodiversity, the Government, in part using World Bank expertise, is also orienting its activities toward development of the ecotourism sector.
“Diversification of the Gabonese economy has become a vital need for the country’s future, and ecotourism is a sector which must now be the object of very detailed attention,” according Richard Auguste Onouviet, Gabon’s minister of planning.
The need for ecotourism to be brought to the forefront is underscored by the global financial crisis, which has caused a drastic drop in international demand for Gabon’s timber, the bulk of which is exported to Asia, mainly China.
To date, in addition to its forestry work, the Government also has undertaken a series of consultations with its international partners to set up a national program for ecotourism development.
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