- With nearly 90% forest cover, Gabon is home to a biodiverse landscape that prompts the need for both conservation and environmental education among young generations.
- Environmental educator Léa Coralie Moussavou stresses that conservation is not just about protecting wildlife and forests; it’s also about helping local communities.
- Moussavou spoke to Mongabay about her role as the head of community education and environmental awareness at the NGO Conservation Justice.
- “We need to make people understand that everything is linked, that we are all in the same boat, and that our project is not about protecting animals at the expense of human beings,” Moussavou said.
Gabon’s biodiversity is among the largest and most diverse wild ecosystems in the world, with nearly 90% of its territory covered in rainforests. The country is home to some of the world’s most iconic species such as elephants, pangolins, gorillas, chimpanzees as well as panthers and hippopotamuses. The need to protect this environment prompts the need to educate young generations. But for environmental educator Léa Coralie Moussavou, it’s important to note: Conservation is not just protecting wildlife species and forests; it’s also about helping local communities.
In 2013, a study carried out by Gabon’s national parks agency, in collaboration with the WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), revealed that poachers had killed around 11,100 elephants, or 44-77% of the population, in and around Minkébé National Park, located in the southeast. Since then, in a bid to safeguard the country’s rich wildlife heritage, the NGO Conservation Justice (CJ) has worked with the Gabonese authorities to arrest poachers (more than 500 in the last 15 years) and ensure that the country’s wildlife law is applied. Article 275 of this law subjects poachers to 3-6 months’ imprisonment and a fine between 100,000 and 10 million Central African CFA francs ($158-$15,800).
Conservation Justice is also active in environmental education, with almost 7,350 pupils being educated across Gabon in 2024. To mark World Environment Education Day, celebrated every year on Jan. 26, Moussavou spoke with Mongabay about her work as head of community education and environmental awareness at Conservation Justice. This interview has been translated from French and edited lightly for clarity and length.
Mongabay: For our readers who are not familiar with the environment in which you work, can you describe the status of the conservation sector in Gabon?
Léa Moussavou: The conservation sector in Gabon is squarely at the heart of the country’s public policies. In fact, conservation is one of the pillars guiding our country’s general policy, with institutions such as MINEF [Ministry of Water and Forests] given responsibility for this sector, with the support of international organizations and NGOs such as CJ.
Conservation plays a key role in our country, as this sector creates new jobs and helps the state to combat growing unemployment in Gabon. What’s more, the conservation sector is at the heart of debates in the fight against climate change, as experts in the sector are at the center of decisions on these issues. In Gabon, the legislator spares no effort to legislate in this area, hence the existence of numerous legal texts governing this field. The Ministry of Education is now including these issues in school textbooks.
Mongabay: Tell us about your day — what exactly do you do in your role at CJ?
Léa Moussavou: We work mainly in the interior parts of the country, in the divisional and provincial capitals. We also work with forestry companies based in these areas. On a working day, after the usual pleasantries with administrative authorities, we obtain authorization to visit schools, forestry companies and the local people. We head out to the various targets who have received a schedule of our visits beforehand. Generally, everything goes smoothly, with interactive and sometimes passionate exchanges on issues relating to human-wildlife conflict.
Mongabay: How important is environmental education in preserving endangered species in Gabon, particularly in the areas where CJ works? Can you give us any concrete examples or figures on the results achieved through these awareness-raising programs?
Léa Moussavou: Environmental education is very important not only for the preservation of endangered wildlife species, but also for the preservation of forests, where the existence of some depends on the existence of others. Its importance lies in changing people’s eating habits [because some forest dwellers feed on endangered animals], as they come to realize the role of animals whose activity helps to save the planet. Environmental education helps to raise awareness on the objectives and results of conservation efforts.
Mongabay: Since your involvement in CJ’s environmental education program, what significant changes have you observed in the behavior of local communities towards biodiversity, particularly in protected areas?
Léa Moussavou: The first change in behavior is linked to knowledge of the law and the rationale behind it. By understanding that the law protects not just the animals, but also the communities, because deforestation and poaching are more of a danger to the people themselves than to the animals. By understanding this, and we have observed it, there are people who make a commitment to contribute to conservation in their locality. For us, this is a very good result. The local people are in the process of setting up a platform for the sustainable management of the Mulundu wildlife [located in the province of Ogooué-Lolo] which is a sign of a change in mentality, thanks to our awareness campaigns.
Mongabay: What are the main challenges you face in involving young people and local populations in conservation efforts?
Léa Moussavou: The first challenge is to get young people and the general public to understand the purpose of our actions. We need to make people understand that everything is linked, that we are all in the same boat, and that our project is not about protecting animals at the expense of human beings. On the contrary, it is to preserve humanity that we are on the ground.
Other challenges have included the hostility of local people, who took a dim view of our activities. There was also the lack of involvement of women and young people during our community meetings. Today, the local people are aware of the merits of our actions and even make it easier for us to attend our meetings.
Mongabay: What role do you think technology and the media can play in popularizing environmental education? Are there any innovative projects in the pipeline for 2025 within CJ or in collaboration with other partners?
Léa Moussavou: Technology has a very important role to play, starting with traditional and online media, which are an effective relay for our actions. And let’s not forget social networks. When we see the young and even the not-so-young relaying the various challenges on social networks, we understand that we can use these communication channels to have an impact on the populations targeted by our project. With our partners, in view of the current results, we are in the process of implementing a strategy that takes technological tools into account, as we note that the internet connection is almost everywhere we operate.
Mongabay: How did you first become interested in the environment? Were there any particular experiences in your childhood or later in life that led you to work in this field?
Léa Moussavou: As is customary in Gabon, I regularly spent time in the village with my grandparents. It was while I was there that I was introduced to bushmeat. I must admit that when I was young, I ate the so-called bushmeat without bothering to find out whether it was poached or not. This detail didn’t bother me at the time.
It became clear when I began working on environmental education projects in schools, where I was just in charge of logistics, and I began to understand that the planet is in danger and will be even more so if we do nothing. That’s when I became interested in environmental education, particularly for children. Today, after a number of training courses in this area and a heightened awareness, I’m careful about the meat I put on my plate.
Mongabay: You focus on environmental education; how did your schooling go? Did you learn anything about conservation and biodiversity during your time at school? Who were your teachers and mentors when it came to the environment?
Léa Moussavou: The truth is that when I was in school, environmental issues were not directly addressed in the curriculum. Teachers talked to us about nature as a whole, without mentioning the impact of people’s actions on it. Through the media, I heard more about the environment, biodiversity management and conservation efforts.
It is in the field that I’ve definitely had an impact, thanks to my various experiences working alongside the teams at BtoB [a communications agency designing shows for environmental managers], WCS and others. The experience I have acquired today also stems from my work as BTOB’s external relations manager with actors and managers of [many other] environmental organizations and programs.
Above all, today at Conservation Justice, I am at the heart of the actions and am much more autonomous.
Mongabay: Can you describe a memorable experience you have had with a student or someone you have educated about the environment that has stayed with you or shaped your own thinking on biodiversity?
Léa Moussavou: In 2010, the agency launched the “Carnival parade of little ecologists/Rio+20” project. My passion for environmental education grew as I was part of a school caravan that traveled to 20 primary schools a year for five years. I was practically at the center of the entire organization, from finding partners to carrying out the activities.
And with my daughter. After teaching her the good habits of a good ecologist, one day she came home from school with pockets full of biscuit wrappers, sweets, sachets and even an empty plastic bottle in her bag. She said to me, “Mum, I had to collect the rubbish in class because the others still don’t understand, and because of you I can’t throw the rubbish out in the street anymore, so my pockets have become a dustbin.” It’s the importance of having an impact on children.
Mongabay: What is your message to young people and future generations about biodiversity and conservation?
Léa Moussavou: We tell young people that the planet is their heritage. The climate problems we are experiencing today are largely linked to deforestation and the disappearance of certain animal species. Young people have an obligation to continue this fight, much more than we are doing today, so that in 10 or 30 years’ time they are not faced with problems more serious than those we are experiencing today.
Banner image: Léa Coralie Moussavou is head of community education and environmental awareness for the NGO Conservation Justice in Gabon, where she teaches students about protecting wildlife — as well as communities. Image courtesy of Léa Moussavou.
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