Africa Geographic August 2004 [antikvár]

editorial If President Bongo's vision can be realised, it will be a conservation and ecotourism triumph not only for Gabon, but for Africa as a whole We are so inured to bad news coming out of Africa that sometimes even those of us who are steadfast in our belief in the continent and its potential have our confidence shaken from time to time. It is a real fillip, therefore, when a story breaks that is truly uplifting and triumphant. Just to the north and west of the Congo lies the country of Gabon, where in the previous century the medical missionary and Nobel prize-winner Albert Schweitzer lived and worked for much of the latter part of his life. In all honesty, and until very recently, Schweitzer and his mission at Lamberene was just about all I knew of this part of Africa. Then, about two years ago, we received a press release from conservation agencies in the US announcing that El Hadj Omar Bongo, the long-serving president of Gabon, had with one flourish of his signature proclaimed 13 new national parks covering some 28 500 square kilometres. This in itself would have been an event of note, but coming from a country which until that point had no national parks at all, it seemed like the conservation coup of the new millennium. So when photographer/writer Rob Ross planted the seed of a feature on the country, it fell on fertile ground and we began to help him motivate a journey to find out what had happened in the intervening period. We were particularly interested to learn about the progress of ecotourism infrastructure, for we knew that the long-term future of the parks in Gabon had to a great extent been predicated on the assumption that tourism could provide the income for their running, and especially for job creation. Our appetite had been further whetted by some superb images from Carlton Ward who, working with the Smithsonian Institution, had undertaken the compilation of a photographic record of Gabon's extraordinary biotic diversity. This, combined with first sight of Ross's photographs on his return, convinced us that we had to do something special. So, in an unprecedented step, we decided to devote a full 24 pages to this little-known country tucked into the southern reach of the Gulf of Guinea. Will the dream be fulfilled? Not even Ross finds all the answers. But it has a head start. Gabon's low population, its relative prosperity due to its oil and other mineral wealth, its forests, savannas and a coastline teaming with wildlife, and its political stability are all encouraging. And the Observer's human rights index gives the country a rating on a par with South Africa's, which is a lot higher than that of some of the economic giants of the West and East! It is easy to be cynical and there are no doubt many who would not back Gabon's chances. But if President Bongo's vision - which was fired in no small measure by the work of conservationist Mike Fay of the Wildlife Conservation Society - can be realised, then it will be a triumph not only for Gabon, but for Africa as a whole.