Sold down the river - Salva le Foreste

GABON 45GabonPolitical, social and economic frameworkLOCATED ON THE West Coast of Central Africa, Gabon covers a total area of268,000 square kilometres. Forests cover an estimated 220,000 square kilometres. 1Gabon’s population of 1.2 million is mainly urban (73%) 2 and almost one-third of thepeople live in the capital, Libreville. 3 As a result, the percentage of people who depend directlyon the forests for subsistence livelihoods is relatively small. Because of its small population andlarge expanse of primary rainforests, Gabon is often described as a country where long-termsustainable timber production is a viable possibility. However, financial mismanagement of theeconomy, weaknesses within current forestry policy and practice and new evidence of negativesocial and environmental impacts at the local level associated with current logging operations(see CIAJE Report, pp 50-52) all call into question the extent to which industrial logging ascurrently practised will be ecologically sustainable and will alleviate poverty and bring longtermsustainable development to Gabon’s people.Gabon’s economy is heavily dependent on natural resource extraction for export markets.The main sectors are oil, timber and manganese, with oil predominant. This dependence leavesGabon’s economy vulnerable to external factors such as the falling price of oil on the worldmarket and the Asian economic crisis, two events that plunged the country into financial crisisin 1998, leading to higher unemployment, especially among young people, and increasedpoverty. 4Until the discovery of oil deposits in the early 1970s, Gabon’s economy was largelydependent on its forests, which contributed 75% of its export earnings. The discovery of oilsparked a rural exodus as people moved to the cities in search of jobs and money. In 1995, oilaccounted for 40% of GDP, 80% of exports and 60% of government revenues. 5 Gabon hasthe highest GNP per capita in Africa – US$ 4,230 in 1997 6 – but oil revenues are not reflectedin improved standards of living for the majority of the population, who remain in poverty,whilst only a small elite have benefited. 7 Gabon has a significant and increasing external debtburden, estimated at CFA fr 472 billion (US$ 614 million) at the end of 1999 and CFA fr 604billion (US$ 785 million) at the end of June 2000. 8 It has had considerable problems meetingrepayments to the IMF and other creditors such as France. 9 As a middle-income country,Gabon does not qualify for debt relief under the HIPC initiative, even though the country hasconsiderable unpayable debts and the World Bank admits that poverty indicators arecomparable to the rest of Africa. 10 The IMF and the World Bank are pushing macro-economicreform, central to which are the promotion of the non-oil sectors of the economy, privatisationand civil service reform.Gabon gained independence from France in 1960 but close ties with the former colonialpower were assured through a series of co-operation agreements. The country’s long-standinghead of state, President Omar Bongo, has been in power since 1967, initially as the handpickedsuccessor to the country’s first president and, since 1990, with a democratic mandate.He has continued to be a long-term friend to France and has mediated in disputes in otherAfrican countries, including Congo (Brazzaville). He has been implicated, however, in dubiousfinancial transactions. He is alleged to have received secret payments from Elf, the major oilcompany operating in the country. In 1999, evidence was presented to a US Senate subcommitteehearing on money laundering and corruption that Bongo transferred US$ 130million through a personal bank account in New York. 11Forest policy and practiceThe forestry sector is the second source of foreign exchange after oil, accounting for 15% ofexports in 1995. 12 Like its Congo Basin neighbours, the Gabonese government andinternational donors regard the exploitation of timber as central to macro-economicdevelopment. This policy is causing a rapid increase in logging.Although Gabon’s forests are often described as being relatively undamaged and offeringgreat potential for long-term sustainable timber production, it is clear that industrial forestrywithin the current policy framework threatens their future integrity and the country’sbiodiversity. Production levels are already considerably above the official sustainableproduction estimates and are set to continue rising. The contribution which forestry sectorrevenues make to the country’s population as a whole and to people living in the locality offorestry operations is questionable.The entities responsible for regulating the logging industry in Gabon are the Ministry ofWater and Forests (Ministère des Eaux et des Forêts), which has responsibility for implementand monitoring forest policy, and SNBG, Societé Nationale des Bois du Gabon (see box over).Gabon