Protected Areas in Gabon
Gabon obtained internal autonomy from French Equatorial Africa, of which it formed part, in November 1958. Full independence was gained in 1960.
On the initiative of the President of the Republic Omar Bongo Ondimba, the creation of a network of 13 national parks was announced on 4 September 2002, during the Johannesburg Earth Summit.
The sites all cover one of Gabon's nine provinces.
The 13 sites are classified for the conservation of Gabon's rich biodiversity and were created based on the results of the botanical, socio-economic and wildlife-related evaluations conducted over a two-year period by the teams of the DFC (Directorate for Wildlife and Hunting), the WCS and the WWF.
WCS Activities
*Technical assistance for national park and protected area planning and management
* Capacity building in natural resources management, tourism and scientific research institutions
* Research and monitoring to improve natural resource management
Presidential Reserve Wonga-Wongué (www)
Created as a fauna reserve, then given the status of National Park, it became a Presidential Reserve in 1972. Wonga-Wongué could either preserve its present status or become, wholly or in part, a National Park.
Sources: Gabonese Republic; WCPA – World database on protected areas; WCS- Wildlife Conservation Society
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