A coalition of donors and the Gabonese government has signed an agreement to protect 34,000 square kilometers of the nation's Congo Basin rainforests. The initiative, called Gabon Infini, will utilize a Project Finance for Permanence model, linking funding to specific government conservation policies. The project combines 94 million dollars from donors, including the Bezos Earth Fund and the Global Environment Facility, with 86 million dollars in government funding over ten years. Its objectives include establishing new national parks, combating elephant poaching, and promoting eco-tourism.
This agreement builds upon previous conservation efforts in Gabon, a country where nearly 90 percent of the territory consists of tropical rainforest. These forests are a vital habitat for more than half of the world's remaining African forest elephants and a quarter of the surviving western lowland gorillas.
Former Minister Maurice Ntossui Allogo, who oversaw the plan, described the signing of the Letter of Intent as a decisive milestone for national conservation. A representative from The Nature Conservancy added that the project aims to increase the protected rainforest area from 15 percent to 30 percent, hoping Gabon becomes a model for other African nations.
This agreement builds upon previous conservation efforts in Gabon, a country where nearly 90 percent of the territory consists of tropical rainforest. These forests are a vital habitat for more than half of the world's remaining African forest elephants and a quarter of the surviving western lowland gorillas.
Former Minister Maurice Ntossui Allogo, who oversaw the plan, described the signing of the Letter of Intent as a decisive milestone for national conservation. A representative from The Nature Conservancy added that the project aims to increase the protected rainforest area from 15 percent to 30 percent, hoping Gabon becomes a model for other African nations.
