Evolution of policies and legal frameworks governing the management of forest and National Parks resources in Gabon

Abstract

In the Congo Basin region, sustainable management of forests and protected areas is mostly biodiversity oriented while little is known about governance effectiveness of such forest resources, especially in Gabon. This paper assesses available policy, legislations and institutions to enhance the management of Gabonese forests and National Parks resources. Data was gathered through systematic review of literature and policies and face to face interviews of experts in three key institutions. National Parks represent a restrictive conservation strategy adopted by the Gabonese government. Resource harvesting and gathering is prohibited in National Parks boundaries. Identified issues include; little participation of the local communities in forest resource management and poor benefits redistribution among stakeholders. The current policy framework promotes strongly the economic development of the timber sector and biodiversity protection than the rights and livelihoods security of local communities. Several institutions are involved in resources management but their mandates over biodiversity protection tend to overlap, providing possible obstacles to their efficient performance. The establishment of a new type of institutional arrangement for protected areas which would integrate biodiversity protection and secure local people's livelihoods is therefore needful. Institutional collaboration and communication among these institutions should also be encouraged to avoid the overlap of their mandates.Key words: National Parks, forests, governance effectiveness, policy, legislations, resources management, Gabon. INTRODUCTIONWorldwide, several countries have embarked on establishing and managing protected areas since they are considered as cornerstones for biodiversity conservation and sources of socio-cultural and economic values for the society (Muhumuza and Balkwill, 2013;Watson et al., 2014). Six categories (Ia, II, III, IV, V and VI) of protected areas have therefore been established by the IUCN according to their management objectives 42 Int. J. Biodivers. Conserv. (Phillips, 2003; Dudley,2008). Protected areas of categories Ia, II, III, IV and V aim at strictly protecting biodiversity and encouraging scientific research, environmental education and ecotourism development while protected area's category VI tends to reconcile biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in its boundaries (Gardner, 2011;Burgin and Zama, 2014). However, the latter category tends to be poorly implemented worldwide, and this despite increasing pressure from the World Congress on Protected Areas (WCPA) to promote new forms of conservation governance such as: (i) governance by government; (ii) shared governance; (iii) private governance; and (iv) governance by indigenous peoples and local communities themselves (Dudley, 2008).Currently, just few countries have embarked on establishing all the six categories of protected areas along with such new forms of conservation governance (Dudley, 2008), especially in Brazil. Howe...

Human-Elephant Conflict Around Moukalaba-Doudou National Park in Gabon: Socioeconomic Changes and Effects of Conservation Projects on Local Tolerance

“…It is estimated that about 63,000-76,000 elephants inhabit the country (Thouless et al, 2016). Gabon has actively engaged in biodiversity conservation, building 13 national parks in 2002, establishing logging concessions, and developing eco-tourism (Yobo & Ito, 2016). Owing to such efforts and low human population densities, Gabon has maintained a high level of forest cover, at 91% of the country's land (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2020).…”