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Countries Appendix GABON (69.3%) Despite current economic problems, Gabon has a higher standard of living than most sub-Sahara Africa. The world oil glut of 1998-1999 combined with the steep decline in Asian demand for timber products has struck a serious blow to the economy. The recent slump in timber prices and demand (log exports fell 47% between 1997 and 1998) from the Asian financial crisis may spur a shift away from selective logging toward intensive slash-and-burn agriculture. This heavily forested nation has a tremendous amount of biological diversity and serves as an important sanctuary for many animal species. Gabon has numerous endemic species and vast tracts of pristine rainforest which make up almost 40% of the country's rainforests. Gabon has passed laws to protect endangered species, restrict hunting, and set up reserves. This legislation has slowed poaching, which was a problem for a time. However, the country still lacks adequate legislation to prevent overexploitation of rainforests and to regulate logging concessions. Logging is illegal in the country's five protected areas (making up 8% of the territory), though enforcement is weak and there are reports of logging within the reserves. Virtually all of Gabon's forests are threatened by logging because the government is opening new logging concessions to counter the reduction in government revenue caused by the slump in oil prices. By November 1997, more than 100 logging companies, most of which are European, operated in Gabon, and exploitation is accelerating. By its high percentage of raw log exports (only 7% of logs in 1997 were processed locally), Gabon is seeing less revenue from its deforestation. It is exporting low value raw material instead of the more valuable processed and finished products. In addition, new logging roads are opening the interior to colonists, poachers, oil companies, and gold miners. Gabon provides a major source of bushmeat for urban centers in Central Africa. One of the reasons Gabon's forests have remained somewhat intact is its population density is very low and pressure on the forests is much less than other countries of sub-Sahara Africa. There is some potential for forest regeneration if proper programs were introduced. . . . . . For current information I highly recommend trying the CIA and FAO links below. |
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