Big Ambitions
Much of Gabon’s economic growth has come from the export of natural resources like oil and manganese, but oil revenues are declining. With approximately 800,000 young Gabonese on track to enter the work force in the next decade or so, the government must create new jobs and find a way to do this in balance with its ambitious environmental goals.
“We are convinced that investment in biodiversity conservation and natural capital is critical for human wellbeing,” Lee White, Gabon’s minister of water, forests, the sea and environment, told attendees at a high-level meeting on global biodiversity protection hosted by Colombia in 2021.
For example, a switch to sustainable forestry and a ban on the export of whole-log timber was a way to protect forests and create jobs. “Traditionally, we exported logs from Gabon to the rest of the world,” says White. “When you export a log, you are retaining about eight percent of the value of the wood, and so you’re gifting over 90 percent of the value added to the country that imports your log and transforms it into furniture or parquet or [other items].” Producing these finished wood products locally will keep profits in Gabon.
Payment for carbon dioxide captured by healthy forests is also bringing in funds. Last year, Gabon received the first installment of US$150 million from Norway, through the Central African Forest Initiative, in exchange for demonstrated progress in forest protection and emissions reductions. The hope is this will lead to future payment structures that compensate Gabon for its forests’ contribution to mitigating global climate change.
Gabon is part of the High Ambition Coalition, a group of over 100 countries advocating for a global commitment through the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030 (often referred to as 30x30). It is one of several countries pushing for the inclusion of a 30 percent goal for freshwater as well. For a nation whose culture and landscape are shaped by its rivers, this expanded 30:30:30 goal has a special significance.
“Over the last three decades, Gabon has been gradually building the laws and institutions that we need to preserve forests and ecosystems,” says White.
Gabon announced its plan to create a series of protected areas in 2002 and established the National Agency for National Parks (Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux) in 2007. It now has 13 national parks and two World Heritage sites, plus nine Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance, which cover a total of about 22 percent of the country. Offshore, Gabon has established 20 marine protected areas across 20,060 square miles (51,955 sq km), which represent about 26 percent of its ocean territory.
Managing these areas remains a challenge, however, due to variable protection designations and limited funds. The isolation of Gabon’s natural habitats means they are harder to access, but it also makes them harder to steward. Marine protected areas are distinctly difficult to monitor, and they are easily accessible to the fishing boats drawn from around the region to Gabon’s bountiful offshore ecosystems.
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July 08, 2022 at 03:36AM
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Inspiring the World Through Action in Gabon - The Nature Conservancy
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