Country Profile: GABON

Jun 19, 2009

Executive summary of Monkey Business in Gabon: A Case Study of Bushmeat in Central Africa (IFAW 2003). Reprinted by permission from IFAW. For the full report, visit http://www.ifaw.org/page.asp?unitid=459

Boxed text was written by BCTF. Graphics and box-text information is attributable to the sources indicated.

This report is based on an extensive literature study and a five-week field mission to Gabon in 2001 for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The purpose of the report is to summarize some of the major issues behind the bushmeat crisis in Central Africa with Gabon as a case study as well as to find ways and means for solutions for these problems.

Wildlife
Gabon has an extremely rich biodiversity for its small size, with 300 mammal species, 600 bird species and 6,000 plant species. There are still large wild populations of gorillas and chimpanzees present. However, the pressure on these populations is growing due to habitat destruction (especially by road building and logging) and hunting for meat consumption.

Hunting
Indiscriminate hunting of wild animals for bushmeat consumption is practiced all over Gabon, both for subsistence and for commercial trade. Hunting is considered unsustainable in all parts of Gabon, except in regions bordering large intact forest blocks. The methods used - snare and shotgun hunting - are both very a-selective. Animals trapped in snares spend days in the traps before being found by the hunter, struggling to escape but usually dying a painful death.

Dollars and Sense
WCS researchers Kate Abernathy and David Wilkie have recently studied bushmeat markets and consumption in Gabon, with support from PhD candidate Malcolm Starkey. Academic papers are currently being produced, but recent presentations by Mr. Starkey provide a snapshot of the situation. Results confirm an inverse relationship between bushmeat prices, farmed meat prices, and distance to market. Bushmeat is cheaper than farmed meat in rural areas, but more expensive than farmed meat in urban areas like Libreville, indicating that cultural preference may drive consumption more than cost.

The project is now being run from within the Gabonese Wildlife Department with only limited external assistance. While Gabon has sufficient expertise to collect data, there is a need to raise capacity for analyzing and managing databases, among other reasons to reduce the feeling that western researchers leave with all the data. The Gabonese Wildlife Department also needs social science training or personnel to augment their natural science core, to better devise locally appropriate interventions. In lieu of these deficiencies, the focus this summer has been on developing a monitoring strategy to assess the effectiveness of interventions, based on their impacts over time.

Source: Malcolm Starkey presentations to the UK Tropical Forest Forum and WCS (DC Office)
More info: www.wcs.org/home/wild/Africa/gnp-wcsingabon/

Transport and trade and consumption
Bushmeat is transported in Gabon through a limited number of highways, waterways and the Transgabonais Railroad. The most commonly traded and consumed species include porcupines, antelopes, red river hogs, monkeys, cane rats, dwarf crocodiles and pangolins. Gorillas and chimpanzees are also traded for meat consumption, while their babies are traded as pets. In addition, illegal elephant poaching for ivory is widespread in certain regions. Many of these species are fully or partially protected by law, but this has not resulted in lower trade levels, because the law is simply not enforced. The illegal trade chain could be broken through strict controls and law enforcement on roads, rivers and trains. In terms of consumption, bushmeat constitutes an essential part of the rural people’s protein intake. In the cities, however, where alternative meat is abundantly available, bushmeat is consumed as a delicacy.

Article 216 of the Gabon Forest Code (Dec 2001)

The following is prohibited:

  • Hunting outside the season (15 May to 15 September)

  • Hunting without a permit

  • Hunting in protected areas

  • Disrespect of the norms for capturing and killing animals

  • Chasing, approaching or shooting wild animals from a vehicle, boat or airplane

  • Hunting at night with or without light equipment

  • Hunting with the use of fire, nets or holes

  • Hunting and capturing with the use of drugs, poisoned bait, fixed guns or explosives

  • Hunting by metal traps and collars made of cables (wire snares)

  • Any other fraud in terms of hunting

Source: Monkey Business in Gabon, IFAW 2003. Page 13

Government policies
No one is allowed to hunt without a permit delivered by the Ministry of Forest Economy. The only exception to this rule is the customary right of village communities to hunt for subsistence purposes. In practice, however, the law is applied only partially or – in most cases – not at all. This is due to the weak law enforcement capacity of the authorities concerned with fauna management, as well as to a lack of political willingness. Strict law enforcement is seen by all experts as a pre-condition to save Gabon’s wildlife.

Logging and Roads
Bushmeat hunting and trade increases sharply in logging areas to feed the people in the logging camps. In addition, the construction of logging roads facilitates the entry of commercial hunters into the forest. An estimated total concession area of 12 million hectares is currently assigned as industrial logging concessions in Gabon. French and Malaysian companies dominate the logging scene, while there are also companies from Italy, Portugal, Spain and Lebanon. French companies account for more than 25% of total concession area in Gabon. Foreign logging companies in Gabon are increasingly trying to put a halt to commercial bushmeat hunting within their concessions by anti-poaching measures. However, with the assignment of new logging permits in the last frontier forests in Northeast Gabon, bushmeat hunting is expected to increase further in these regions.

For the full Monkey Business report, visit http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=12065.

© 1999-2009 Bushmeat Crisis Task Force