Environmental problems in Gabon

A relatively clean record

Petrol exports have fuelled Gabon’s economy for several decades, sparing the environment from the effects of degrading human activities. But could petrol also undo the country’s environmental record in the future?

Habitat loss

Should Gabon worry about its forests? After all, 80-85% of the country is still forested and deforestation rates are nowhere close those of neighbouring countries. However, the integrity of the forests is mostly due to substantial revenues from Gabon's petrol exports, which are subject to price fluctuations.

To diversity its sources of income, Gabon has turned towards agriculture and forestry, granting many concessions to foreign companies to extract timber from its forests. Cutting up its large forest estate for exploitation could open the door to unsustainable forest management practices, threatening Gabon's natural heritage and sustainable sources of income for its people.

Bushmeat trade

Overfishing and destructive fishing

Overfishing by foreign fishing vessels, the use of destructive and illegal fishing methods, a decrease in collective and traditional marine resource management… these are just some of the factors that are undermining the sustainable use of fish stocks in Gabon’s waters. There is concern that in the long term these practices could cause fish populations to decrease.

Pollution

As people flock to Gabon’s major cities, uncontrolled urban development is straining sanitary services and local ecosystems. There is little available land for development and over half of the population lacks proper housing.

Water supply is struggling to catch up with urban growth, largely due to lack of municipal funds and capacities. With not enough water to meet people’s basic needs, poor sanitation poses a threat to human health because of exposure to pathogens such as cholera and intestinal parasites. These pathogens also pose a threat to the surrounding environment if sewage and wastewater are discharged untreated.

Unsustainable infrastructure development

Intensification in human activities along the coast, especially in the cities of Libreville and Port-Gentil, is accelerating erosion and sedimentation. These activities include vegetation clearing, sand mining, and constructions erected too close to the sea. In 1996, the rate of coastal erosion was reported as having reached around 10 m per year, mainly as a result of clearance of mangrove forests.