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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/gabon/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:17:38 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Gabon environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/gabon/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>A Congo Basin-led bioeconomy could boost Central Africa’s green transition (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2026 16:27:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Metolo Foyet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/05115844/ForestElephant.Loxodonta.cyclotis_NgounieGabon_marcusgmeineriNaturalistBYNC4.0-BANNER-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317006</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, Commentary, Community Development, Environment, Forest Products, Forests, Green, Rainforests, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Trade, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Congo Basin, often referred to as the “second lungs of Earth,” holds immense potential for leading Central Africa’s green transition. Home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest and second-largest reserve of drinkable water (holding 50% of all of Africa’s water resources), the region covers more than 3.7 million square kilometers (nearly 1.5 million square [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Congo Basin, often referred to as the “second lungs of Earth,” holds immense potential for leading Central Africa’s green transition. Home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest and second-largest reserve of drinkable water (holding 50% of all of Africa’s water resources), the region covers more than 3.7 million square kilometers (nearly 1.5 million square miles), absorbs more carbon dioxide than any other region in the world — with an annual net carbon dioxide absorption six times that of the Amazon Rainforest — and spans six countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon), storing around 30 billion metric tons of carbon. This critical ecological zone harbors immense biodiversity and natural resources, making it a strategic hub for the emerging global bioeconomy. However, learning from the Eastern African experience, realizing this potential requires a shift from extractive industries to sustainable, nature-based economies that prioritize long-term ecological health and local prosperity. Beyond its ecological importance — containing more than 10,000 species of plants, 1,000 species of birds, and 400 species of mammals, including iconic ones like the forest elephant and the critically endangered western lowland gorilla — the region stands at a critical juncture in the global minerals race, holding a significant share of the world&#8217;s strategic assets like lithium, cobalt, gold, and rare earth elements — key components shaping global power and the future of the energy transition. Despite this wealth, the Congo Basin’s economic strategies have often relied on the “dig&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-congo-basin-led-bioeconomy-could-boost-central-africas-green-transition-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a community defended its ancestral forest from logging</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2026 15:45:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315762</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Conservation Technology, data, Deforestation, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Logging, Mapping, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Solutions, Technology, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; To the cartographers of the modern conservation world, the forests of northeastern Gabon can appear almost empty. Satellite images show a deep green canopy stretching across the Congo Basin. Global datasets classify large tracts as “intact forest landscapes”, areas supposedly free of industrial disturbance and largely untouched by people. On paper, such forests look [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; To the cartographers of the modern conservation world, the forests of northeastern Gabon can appear almost empty. Satellite images show a deep green canopy stretching across the Congo Basin. Global datasets classify large tracts as “intact forest landscapes”, areas supposedly free of industrial disturbance and largely untouched by people. On paper, such forests look pristine. The reality, as residents of the village of Massaha know well, is more complicated. In recent years the community has been fighting to protect a stretch of rainforest south of their village from industrial logging. The forest, known locally as Ibola Dja Bana Ba Massaha—“the reserve of all Massaha’s children”—lies within a concession once allocated to a logging company. For generations the people of Massaha have hunted, fished and farmed there. Sacred lakes and ritual sites lie beneath the canopy. The remains of ancestral villages dot the forest floor. Yet none of this appeared on the maps that guided official decisions. The gap between these two views of the forest is the subject of a recent study examining Massaha’s campaign to document its territory. The researchers compared global conservation maps and colonial-era cartography with a detailed map created by the community itself. The result reveals something striking: the forest that appears empty in official datasets is, in fact, layered with history and meaning. Image courtesy of Ivindo FM. Massaha’s map emerged from an unusually collaborative process. Using participatory geographic tools, villagers gathered to project satellite images of their territory onto a wall. Elders identified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-a-community-defended-its-ancestral-forest-from-logging/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>What’s next for the major pledge to halt &#038; reverse Congo Basin deforestation?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-next-for-the-major-pledge-to-halt-reverse-congo-basin-deforestation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-next-for-the-major-pledge-to-halt-reverse-congo-basin-deforestation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Feb 2026 23:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313829</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Finance, Forests, Politics, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Copince Ngoma, a member of the Bakouele Indigenous community, has relied on the lush green Congo Basin rainforest his whole life. His village’s forests, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Sangha region, are a wide repertoire for hunting, fishing and medicinal plants to care for his family. But in the last few years, as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Copince Ngoma, a member of the Bakouele Indigenous community, has relied on the lush green Congo Basin rainforest his whole life. His village’s forests, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Sangha region, are a wide repertoire for hunting, fishing and medicinal plants to care for his family. But in the last few years, as elsewhere across the world’s second-largest rainforest, the scars of unsustainable mining practices have cleared wildlife habitats, polluted waters and dwindled resources. “We used to drink this water, but not anymore. … We used to hunt gazelles, monkeys. … Now, to catch anything, you have to travel at least 20 kilometers,” about 12 miles away, he told Mongabay. “We’re suffering.” This is part of a central and recurring issue across the region, which brought together high-level policymakers during a Land Dialogues webinar on Jan. 27 to discuss the recent $2.5 billion pledge to conserve forests that millions of people, including Ngoma, depend on for their material and cultural survival. The pledge is part of a major political and financial commitment announced last November during the COP30 U.N. climate conference: the Belém Call to Action for the Congo Basin Forests. Land clearance with fire in the Congo Basin. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay. For some policymakers, it was the first time they were speaking publicly about the implementation priorities of the pledge, what it will look like in practice, the inclusion of Indigenous peoples and local communities in the commitment and the challenges the call to action faces.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-next-for-the-major-pledge-to-halt-reverse-congo-basin-deforestation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/whats-next-for-the-major-pledge-to-halt-reverse-congo-basin-deforestation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A &#8216;new baseline&#8217;: Study captures accelerating sea-level rise in Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2026 20:35:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/30190306/5-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313548</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, data, El Nino, Environment, Erosion, Flooding, Freshwater, Global Warming, Ice Shelves, Oceans, Sea Levels, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study. The study, published Dec. 15 in the journal Communications Earth &#38; Environment, found that sea levels across the continent have risen four times faster since 2010, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study. The study, published Dec. 15 in the journal Communications Earth &amp; Environment, found that sea levels across the continent have risen four times faster since 2010, on average, than they had in the 1990s. The primary reason was additional water mass from polar melt, rather than other phenomena that can cause sea-level rise, the authors found. “When you have ice-free summer [at high latitudes], it means that the water went somewhere,” Franck Ghomsi, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Manitoba in Canada and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. “The glacier moved from ice to water, and it [water] started migrating. And it is the tropics [that] are now … getting this outflow of water.” The impacts include flooding, erosion of coastal land, displacement of coastal communities and intrusion of salty seawater into freshwater drinking sources. People in Africa are responsible for only a tiny proportion of human-caused global warming and yet face severe effects from the resulting sea-level rise, said Ghomsi, who is from Cameroon, calling this a “climate injustice.” He said that emissions from countries in the Global North are having a “huge impact” on countries in the Global South, including in Africa. Monthly sea level for Africa from 1993-2023. Annual means are shown in red. Sea-level rise accelerated over the 31-year period, with the rate during&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chimpanzees and gorillas among most traded African primates, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/chimpanzees-and-gorillas-among-most-traded-african-primates-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/chimpanzees-and-gorillas-among-most-traded-african-primates-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jan 2026 19:39:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/07193401/EasternChimpanzee_Uganda_NikborrowiNaturalistBYNC4.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312696</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Gabon, Germany, Southern Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Chimpanzees, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Gorillas, Governance, Great Apes, Primates, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Between 2000 and 2023, more than 6,000 African primates were traded internationally in 50 countries, according to a newly published report. Endangered chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and critically endangered western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) were among the 10 most-traded species, according to data from CITES, the global wildlife trade agreement. African primates are traded as trophies, for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Between 2000 and 2023, more than 6,000 African primates were traded internationally in 50 countries, according to a newly published report. Endangered chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and critically endangered western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) were among the 10 most-traded species, according to data from CITES, the global wildlife trade agreement. African primates are traded as trophies, for scientific research, and to be kept in zoos. Hunting monkeys and apes for food and body parts used in charms and rituals is widespread in many parts of Africa. Infants and juveniles are also captured live for the exotic pet trade. The report by U.S.-based nonprofit Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) is the first to try to capture the scale of the trade, the geographic hotspots, and the species targeted. It draws on data from the CITES trade database, seizure records from the wildlife trade monitoring NGO TRAFFIC, media reports, and other published research to present a picture of the global legal and illegal trade in African primates. “The intention is for this report to serve as both a diagnostic tool and a call to action,” lead author and wildlife crime specialist Monique Sosnowski told Mongabay by email. A chacma baboon in South Africa. The report found that these monkeys are the most traded species legally, mostly as hunting trophies. Image by Martie Swart via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Although the report captures international trade in primates from Africa, it doesn’t account for domestic trade, which is driven by food and other traditional uses.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/chimpanzees-and-gorillas-among-most-traded-african-primates-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/chimpanzees-and-gorillas-among-most-traded-african-primates-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top-down projects, exotic trees, weak tenure: Congo Basin restoration misses the mark</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/top-down-projects-exotic-trees-weak-tenure-congo-basin-restoration-misses-the-mark/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/top-down-projects-exotic-trees-weak-tenure-congo-basin-restoration-misses-the-mark/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2025 16:49:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amindeh Blaise Atabong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/11145146/a.-Banner-Loxodonta_cyclotis_3970045-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311149</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agroforestry, Biodiversity, carbon, Climate, Conservation, Forest Carbon, forest degradation, Forests, Logging, Reforestation, Slash-and-burn, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Congo Basin, the world’s largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon, is under mounting pressure. The Congo’s vast green canopy, stretching across six countries and storing more carbon than the Amazon, is vanishing at an alarming rate — losing an average of 1.79 million hectares (4.42 million acres) per year between 2015 and 2019. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Congo Basin, the world’s largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon, is under mounting pressure. The Congo’s vast green canopy, stretching across six countries and storing more carbon than the Amazon, is vanishing at an alarming rate — losing an average of 1.79 million hectares (4.42 million acres) per year between 2015 and 2019. The key drivers are well known: small-scale slash-and-burn agriculture, logging for fuelwood, and weak land governance. In response, some governments, international donors and NGOs have turned to reforestation projects as a cornerstone of the region’s climate and biodiversity strategies. But despite a panoply of projects — from tree-planting drives to agroforestry schemes — newly published research suggests that much of what’s happening in the name of “forest restoration” may not be restoring forests at all — but largely focused on nonnative, commodity species. The study analyzed 64 publications covering 26 initiatives in five countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon, Gabon, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic. The findings paint a complex picture of progress over the last two decades — one where the rhetoric of “restoration” often outpaces the reality on the ground. On paper, Central African governments have made major commitments to the Congo Basin. Under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) and the Bonn Challenge, governments pledged to restore 25% of degraded land by this year. International donors, including the European Union, World Bank, as well as the French, German, Danish and U.K. development agencies, have poured millions of dollars into&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/top-down-projects-exotic-trees-weak-tenure-congo-basin-restoration-misses-the-mark/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Report exposes safety complaints preceding fatal Perenco explosion in Gabon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/report-exposes-safety-complaints-preceding-fatal-perenco-explosion-in-gabon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/report-exposes-safety-complaints-preceding-fatal-perenco-explosion-in-gabon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Jun 2025 16:13:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/19134224/gabon-ofc-offshore-dji0791-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301068</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Industry, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“It’s really very, very, very dilapidated. … It’s really filthy, it’s not a safe platform. We had to block off some parts of the platform because the floor was covered in oil, and cables were lying around everywhere. It was dreadful.” These statements were collected by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a US- based nonprofit [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“It’s really very, very, very dilapidated. … It’s really filthy, it’s not a safe platform. We had to block off some parts of the platform because the floor was covered in oil, and cables were lying around everywhere. It was dreadful.” These statements were collected by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a US- based nonprofit organization specialized in exposing environmental crimes. In May 2025, they published a report on the French oil company Perenco, revisiting an incident in Gabon that went almost unnoticed by the general public. On March 20, 2024, six people died on the Becuna oil platform off the coast of Gabon, in an explosion that occurred during a reconditioning operation. An explosion that, according to statements from witnesses on site at the time, could have been prevented. Only a few days earlier, another team had flagged safety issues on the platform, following oil leaks reported two weeks prior. “The necessary safety measures were not in place. When an accident happens on an oil site, this means that certain basic safety protocols haven’t been followed. And that was the case at Becuna,” states one of the sources cited in the report, who preferred to stay anonymous out of fear of retaliation from the company. The pollution of Oba field operated by Perenco in Gabon. Image courtesy of Bernard Christian Rekoula / EIA. Georges Mpaga, president of a network of civil society organizations in Gabon, the Réseau des organisations libres de la société civile pour la bonne gouvernance du&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/report-exposes-safety-complaints-preceding-fatal-perenco-explosion-in-gabon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/report-exposes-safety-complaints-preceding-fatal-perenco-explosion-in-gabon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Conservation education is about people too: Interview with Gabon’s Léa Moussavou</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservation-education-is-about-people-too-interview-with-gabons-lea-moussavou/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservation-education-is-about-people-too-interview-with-gabons-lea-moussavou/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Feb 2025 18:48:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fanta Mabo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/14094717/Conservation-Justice-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294418</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Education, Environment, Fellows, Interviews, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[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&#8217;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 northeast. 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&#8217; 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&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservation-education-is-about-people-too-interview-with-gabons-lea-moussavou/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservation-education-is-about-people-too-interview-with-gabons-lea-moussavou/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/indigenous-knowledge-proves-key-in-a-study-of-plants-gorillas-use-to-self-medicate/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/indigenous-knowledge-proves-key-in-a-study-of-plants-gorillas-use-to-self-medicate/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Oct 2024 21:15:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/12204129/gabon-15610-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288187</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Gorillas, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Primates, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For the Indigenous Vungu people living along the border of Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, the forest here has long been a source of traditional medicines. So when researchers set out to determine the bioactive properties of plants consumed by the park’s western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and which the Vungu also use for medicine, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For the Indigenous Vungu people living along the border of Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, the forest here has long been a source of traditional medicines. So when researchers set out to determine the bioactive properties of plants consumed by the park’s western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and which the Vungu also use for medicine, the community’s knowledge proved vital to their findings. Leresche Oyaba Yinda, lead author of the resulting study published in PLOS ONE, says interviewing the local people, traditional healers and herbalists about the medicinal uses of plants eaten by gorillas “was a decisive step in the effectiveness of our study.” “Indeed, these ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological surveys carried out among the [Indigenous people] of Moukalaba-Doudou National Park were like a compass pointing us in the direction of our questioning,” says Yinda, a scientist from the bacteriology lab at the Interdisciplinary Medical Research Center of Franceville in Gabon. A growing body of research has established that nonhuman animals use plants, as well as animal or soil substances, to treat wounds or other health conditions. It’s also been found that some of the plants that animals consume for self-medication are also used medicinally by humans. In the current study, a team of 13 researchers aimed to determine the medical properties of plants consumed by gorillas that are also part of the Vungu people’s traditional pharmacopeia. Lowland gorilla in Gabon. Western lowland gorillas eat a wide variety of plants, including species used medicinally by local people. Image by Rhett A.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/indigenous-knowledge-proves-key-in-a-study-of-plants-gorillas-use-to-self-medicate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/indigenous-knowledge-proves-key-in-a-study-of-plants-gorillas-use-to-self-medicate/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>Logging has a ‘lasting legacy’ on Gabonese forest soundscapes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2024/09/logging-has-a-lasting-legacy-on-gabonese-forest-soundscapes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2024/09/logging-has-a-lasting-legacy-on-gabonese-forest-soundscapes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2024 05:51:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/03/09054926/z_00222.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=287118</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Green, Logging, National Parks, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Selective Logging, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Noncertified logging concessions in Gabon have much quieter soundscapes, a proxy for vocalizing wildlife, than either national parks or sustainably logged concessions, according to a recent study. However, forests that have never been logged are home to the highest diversity of vocalizing wildlife, researchers found. “Therefore, conserving these increasingly rare never logged forests, in combination [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Noncertified logging concessions in Gabon have much quieter soundscapes, a proxy for vocalizing wildlife, than either national parks or sustainably logged concessions, according to a recent study. However, forests that have never been logged are home to the highest diversity of vocalizing wildlife, researchers found. “Therefore, conserving these increasingly rare never logged forests, in combination with forest certification, is vital to effectively protect wildlife in the Congo Basin,” study lead author Natalie Yoh, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kent, U.K., told Mongabay in an email. Roughly 90% of Gabon is covered in forest, making it one of the most forested countries in the world. It has a network of protected areas and logging concessions, some of which are certified by schemes like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which aim to encourage logging practices that reduce harms to biodiversity compared to noncertified concessions. To find out how wildlife respond to logging, the researchers decided to listen to animals in different forest types. They deployed acoustic recorders at 110 sites across three national parks and six selective logging concessions (three FSC-certified and three noncertified). Additionally, they placed recorders in a proposed community reserve located in an unlogged part of a noncertified concession. The community area is managed by the Kota community of Massaha. At each site, the scientists measured the soundscape saturation, with 100% indicating the site is full of sounds and has a high diversity of vocalizing animals, and 0% meaning the forest is silent, Yoh said. The study&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2024/09/logging-has-a-lasting-legacy-on-gabonese-forest-soundscapes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2024/09/logging-has-a-lasting-legacy-on-gabonese-forest-soundscapes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging done sustainably doesn’t have to harm ecosystem services, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/logging-done-sustainably-doesnt-have-to-harm-ecosystem-services-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/logging-done-sustainably-doesnt-have-to-harm-ecosystem-services-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2024 16:51:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Leocadia Bongben]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/21152945/Prince-Bissiemou-measures-a-tree-in-a-logged-forest-in-Gabon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286363</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Deforestation, Forest Carbon, Forests, Logging, Rainforests, Reforestation, Selective Logging, Sustainability, and Sustainable Forest Management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have found that low-intensity logging of a tropical forest has no negative impacts on key ecosystem services such as the carbon storage and food availability for wildlife. But even at a small scale, selective logging can still effect changes in an area’s plant diversity, the researchers wrote in their recently published study. “We wanted [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have found that low-intensity logging of a tropical forest has no negative impacts on key ecosystem services such as the carbon storage and food availability for wildlife. But even at a small scale, selective logging can still effect changes in an area’s plant diversity, the researchers wrote in their recently published study. “We wanted to study a ‘best-case scenario’ type of selective logging that could serve as a model if it does help minimize environmental damage in the selective logging industry,” study lead author Megan K. Sullivan, from Yale University’s School of the Environment, told Mongabay. Sullivan and her team carried out their research at a logging concession in northwestern Gabon, east of Monts de Cristal National Park. The site was run by SEEF, a local subsidiary of French, timber producer and trader F. Jammes. According to Sullivan, the scientists “assessed how very low-intensity selective logging impacted the species and functional composition of seedlings, saplings, and adults.” The field team measures trees in Gabon. Image by Megan Sullivan. Their findings indicate that forest areas logged at very low intensity — at a rate of 0.82-1.6 trees per hectare (0.33-0.65 trees per acre) for the SEEF concession — can act as wildlife corridors to supplement or connect protected areas. The concept of corridors is promoted by the recent U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity’s recognition of “other effective area-based conservation measures.” “If managed well, low-intensity, selectively logged forests can be seen as a middle path between strictly protected areas and intensive&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/logging-done-sustainably-doesnt-have-to-harm-ecosystem-services-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/logging-done-sustainably-doesnt-have-to-harm-ecosystem-services-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Freeing trees of their liana load can boost carbon sequestration in tropical forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/freeing-trees-of-their-liana-load-can-boost-carbon-sequestration-in-tropical-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/freeing-trees-of-their-liana-load-can-boost-carbon-sequestration-in-tropical-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Feb 2024 22:25:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark Hillsdon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/01220207/at_Yeoor_Hills_4163756350-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278479</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Regenerative landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Belize, Central America, Gabon, Indonesia, South America, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Loss, Forests, Global Warming, Green, Logging, Mitigation, Orangutans, Primates, Rainforests, Research, Secondary Forests, Sustainable Forest Management, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The liana is an opportunistic plant, a vine that, in the right conditions, can smother a tree as it hitches a ride up to the top of the forest canopy. It’s estimated that 250 million hectares of managed forest are affected by rampant liana growth, as the plant thrives where the forest floor has been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The liana is an opportunistic plant, a vine that, in the right conditions, can smother a tree as it hitches a ride up to the top of the forest canopy. It’s estimated that 250 million hectares of managed forest are affected by rampant liana growth, as the plant thrives where the forest floor has been disturbed by clearing activities like logging, as well as natural events such as wildfires and hurricanes. &#8220;Liana&#8221; is a catch-all name for long, woody vining plants, many species of which are native to tropical forests around the world. While the negative effects of lianas on tree growth have been known for some time, a study published in 2023 in the journal Forest Ecology and Management has revealed the carbon benefits of stripping back these woody vines and allowing the trees to grow unencumbered. The study found that in selectively logged forests, where certain tree species are commercially cut and the rest left standing as an alternative to clear-cut felling, freeing just five trees per hectare of their liana load across the 250 million hectares of degraded managed land could remove 800 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere over 30 years — averaging 3.2 tons of CO2 removed per hectare — as well as boosting sustainable timber production. And all at a cost of just $1.50 per hectare. The research is based on managed forests that have previously been disturbed, explains Ethan Belair, a natural climate solutions forester at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and one&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/freeing-trees-of-their-liana-load-can-boost-carbon-sequestration-in-tropical-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>What would it cost to protect the Congo Rainforest?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2023/08/what-would-it-cost-to-protect-the-congo-rainforest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2023/08/what-would-it-cost-to-protect-the-congo-rainforest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2023 22:23:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike DiGirolamo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mikedigirolamo]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/15003046/gabon_massaha_2149-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272757</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay Explores Podcast]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Biodiversity, Carbon Credits, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Market, Carbon Offsets, Climate Change, climate finance, Community Development, Community Forests, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Finance, Forest Carbon, Forest Loss, Forests, Green, Rainforests, Sustainable Development, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How much does it cost to protect the Congo Rainforest? Where does the money come from? Who pays and how is that money used? What models of forest protection work? These are all questions examined on the latest episode in the Mongabay Explores podcast series on the Congo Basin. To get a better understanding of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How much does it cost to protect the Congo Rainforest? Where does the money come from? Who pays and how is that money used? What models of forest protection work? These are all questions examined on the latest episode in the Mongabay Explores podcast series on the Congo Basin. To get a better understanding of how forest protection works (or doesn’t) in the Congo Basin, Mongabay spoke with Paolo Cerutti, principal scientist and DRC unit head at the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF); Chadrack Kafuti, Ph.D. student at Ghent University; Wahida Patwa-Shah, senior regional technical specialist, UNDP Climate Hub; and Lee White, Gabon’s minister of water, forests, the sea and environment. Financing forest protection is, in a word, complex. Not only must one pay to keep forests standing and provide incentives to nations and local communities to continually manage and protect that forest, one must also consider the need for people to feed, clothe and house themselves. A standing forest you cannot touch doesn’t solve this issue. A man walks past a pile of Afrormosia, a highly valued tropical hardwood, logged by SAFBOIS concession. Afrormosia is a protected tree species whose international trade is strictly regulated (listed under CITES Appendix II). The logs are waiting to be transported by Lomami River, tributary of Congo River, near the Village of Yafunga. Industrial logging is done by SAFBOIS in the rainforest surrounded by small communities including Yafunga. Approximately 40 million people in the DRC depend on the rainforest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2023/08/what-would-it-cost-to-protect-the-congo-rainforest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2023/08/what-would-it-cost-to-protect-the-congo-rainforest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>Do virus-detecting ants hold the key to preventing zoonotic diseases?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/do-virus-detecting-ants-hold-the-key-to-preventing-zoonotic-diseases/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/do-virus-detecting-ants-hold-the-key-to-preventing-zoonotic-diseases/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Aug 2023 21:20:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/08/23210707/Ants-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272520</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Gabon, and Republic of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, COVID-19, Deforestation, Ebola, Forests, Rainforests, Research, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An international team of researchers is analysing army ants collected in forests in northeastern Gabon, to better understand zoonotic diseases. According to the World Health Organization, Africa experienced a 63% increase in outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, monkeypox, and Marburg virus between 2012 and 2022, compared to the previous decade. According to researcher Sophie [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An international team of researchers is analysing army ants collected in forests in northeastern Gabon, to better understand zoonotic diseases. According to the World Health Organization, Africa experienced a 63% increase in outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, monkeypox, and Marburg virus between 2012 and 2022, compared to the previous decade. According to researcher Sophie Muset, this is due to deforestation leading to increased human contact with wildlife. Muset is technical coordinator of a research project called Ebo-Sursy, set up in 2017 to better understand, predict and prevent future epidemics. It’s a partnership between the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the Research Institute for Development (IRD), the Pasteur Institute and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD). Ebo-Sursy researchers collected ants from 29 colonies in the forest in Gabon. Image by Gregoire Dubois via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Eric Leroy is a virologist specialising in zoonoses at the IRD. His work for Ebo-Sursy involves looking for new viruses likely to pass from the animal world to humans, both in the laboratory and in the field, across the 47 million hectares of forest in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. Conducting scientific research in these forests is a logistical challenge. “Working in the Congo Basin is complicated because vegetation is very important in this ecosystem. The forests are difficult to access, especially during the rainy season. Most of these territories are totally unexplored, and only a limited number of animals can be captured, sampled, and analysed.” Further complicating&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/do-virus-detecting-ants-hold-the-key-to-preventing-zoonotic-diseases/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/do-virus-detecting-ants-hold-the-key-to-preventing-zoonotic-diseases/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Forest campaign group renews charge that carbon credit verification schemes are flawed</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forest-campaign-group-renews-charge-that-carbon-credit-verification-schemes-are-flawed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forest-campaign-group-renews-charge-that-carbon-credit-verification-schemes-are-flawed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2023 20:47:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/09140155/redd-kenya-ranger-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271553</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Offset Markets and Conservation Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, carbon, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Carbon Offsets, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Politics, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Rainforest Foundation UK claims that all the leading carbon credit verification schemes have allowed millions of credits to enter the voluntary carbon market which do not accurately represent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Six months ago, journalists from the Guardian, Die ZEIT and SourceMaterial published data showing that up to 90% of the carbon credits issued by Verra, the world’s largest certifying agency, are worthless. Now the Rainforest Foundation UK says three other verfication schemes — the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, the UNFCCC REDD+ Results system, as well as the newer verification program ART — can misrepresent the real-life impact of carbon offsets. The UK-based campaign group says manipulated baselines and structural flaws in the validation and verification of projects have resulted in the release of millions of credits onto the voluntary carbon market, that do not match real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. “All of the schemes can to some extent be &#8216;gamed&#8217; to generate non-meaningful credits, adding to climate change, and do not supply the steady stream of funding needed to protect forests, particularly those that rely on voluntary carbon markets,” RFUK CEO Joe Eisen told Mongabay. The report includes Gabon as an example. The Central African country issued 90.6 million REDD+ results-based credits verified by the UNFCCC&#8217;s REDD+ program last year. According to RFUK, the UNFCCC’s technical experts found “methodological anomalies” in the baseline values used by the Gabonese government to calculate “increased carbon removal” resulting from policies that reduced logging activity and deforestation, but these did not prevent the verification of the credits. “All [verification schemes], to a greater or lesser extent allow, or actively rely on, inflation or artificial ‘adjustment’ of baselines in order to create&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forest-campaign-group-renews-charge-that-carbon-credit-verification-schemes-are-flawed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Forests &#038; finance: communities turn to tree-planting, zero-logging, and mushrooms to protect forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/forests-finance-communities-turn-to-tree-planting-zero-logging-and-mushrooms-to-protect-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/forests-finance-communities-turn-to-tree-planting-zero-logging-and-mushrooms-to-protect-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jun 2023 23:28:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/06/15222847/LoggingTrucks_Gabon_jbdodaneFlickr-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269878</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, East Africa, Gabon, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community Forests, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Governance, Landscape Restoration, Protected Areas, Reforestation, Restoration, and Timber]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forests &#38; Finance is Mongabay’s bi-weekly bulletin of briefs about Africa’s forests.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gabon community forest marks ten years of zero logging EBIENG-EDZUA, Gabon — There is no logging in the forest managed by residents of Ebieng-Edzua, in northeastern Gabon. For the past decade, this village has been the only one in the country to choose to preserve its community forest by exploiting only non-timber products, including medicinal plants and sustainable hunting. Located in Gabon&#8217;s Ogooué-Ivindo province, the rural community of Ebieng-Edzua formally took over management of a 1,256-hectare block of in October 2013, the first community-managed forest in Gabon. The villagers decided to end timber exploitation for several reasons, according to community leader Eli Nlo Hubert. &#8220;First of all, logging not only destroys the forest and sacred sites within it, it also undermines animal resources, destroys the undergrowth and provokes conflicts of interest between community members. So we decided not to go down that road.&#8221; Over the past 10 years, the community has developed real expertise in the valorization of non-timber forest products. Villagers practice agroforestry, harvest high quality honey from hives in the forest, tend stands of the medicinal herb iboga (which has recently attracted international attention for its use treating trauma and addictions), and gather wild fruit including wild mango (Irvingia gabonesis), the nuts of which are processed to produce odika, a tasty paste (sometimes referred to as “indigenous chocolate”) that features prominently in Gabonese cuisine. It presents a sharp contrast to other community-managed forests in Gabon, where timber is regarded as the only source of income the forest provides.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/forests-finance-communities-turn-to-tree-planting-zero-logging-and-mushrooms-to-protect-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Corruption threatens timber traceability in Nkok, Gabon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/corruption-threatens-timber-traceability-in-nkok-gabon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/corruption-threatens-timber-traceability-in-nkok-gabon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 May 2023 20:03:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/03082140/TaggedLogs_NkokSEZGabon_GSEZ-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268475</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Corruption, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Illegal Logging, Law Enforcement, Logging, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Timber, Timber Laws, timber trade, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Tropical hardwoods]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“The challenge in the Nkok SIZ is timber traceability. The SIZ must be kept free of illegally obtained timber,” says Marc Ona, executive secretary of the NGO Brainforest. The NGO is part of a team implementing the TraCer monitoring system, which is meant to ensure the legality and traceability of the supply of logs to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“The challenge in the Nkok SIZ is timber traceability. The SIZ must be kept free of illegally obtained timber,” says Marc Ona, executive secretary of the NGO Brainforest. The NGO is part of a team implementing the TraCer monitoring system, which is meant to ensure the legality and traceability of the supply of logs to the Nkok special investment zone, or SIZ, in Gabon. The forestry sector is a pillar of the Gabonese economy. In 2010, Gabon banned exports of raw logs to encourage local wood processing, which would add value to exports and therefore increase revenue. This decision led to the establishment of the SIZ in Nkok, located 27 kilometers (17 miles) from the capital, Libreville. As a growing number of countries, including China, the U.S. and those in the EU, have enacted laws against illegally harvested timber imports, traceability has become crucial in the industry. Aerial view of the Nkok Special Investment Zone. Opened in 2010, its managers say it has generated 25,000 direct and indirect jobs. Image courtesy GSEZ. &#8220;Eighty-eight percent of Gabon is covered by forests,” Mohit Agrawal, director-general of the Nkok SIZ, tells Mongabay. “That means there are 41 million hectares [101 million acres] of forest to be managed. To ensure the preservation of our forests, we have been allocated logging concessions, which have quotas imposed on them. This allows the forest to regenerate and grow. Agrawal added that “Every tree is marked and geolocated. It has a barcode assigned to it, and from there,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/corruption-threatens-timber-traceability-in-nkok-gabon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Forests &#038; Finance: Agroforestry in Cameroon and reforestation in South Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/forests-finance-agroforestry-in-cameroon-and-reforestation-in-south-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/forests-finance-agroforestry-in-cameroon-and-reforestation-in-south-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 May 2023 08:59:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/03084535/CocoaFarmer_Cameroon_OllivierGirardCIFORBYND2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268202</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Agroecology and Global Agroforestry]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Gabon, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Biodiversity Hotspots, Business, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Governance, Industry, Landscape Restoration, Law, Mining, Plantations, Protected Areas, Reforestation, Restoration, Timber, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cameroon cocoa growers plant fruit trees to slow forest conversion Cocoa farmers in part of Cameroon’s Centre region have begun planting fruit trees alongside their cocoa trees. Agroforestry promoters hope additional income from the sale of this supplementary harvest will help protect the nearby Ntui Community Forest from further expansion of cocoa plantations. Divine Foundjem [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cameroon cocoa growers plant fruit trees to slow forest conversion Cocoa farmers in part of Cameroon’s Centre region have begun planting fruit trees alongside their cocoa trees. Agroforestry promoters hope additional income from the sale of this supplementary harvest will help protect the nearby Ntui Community Forest from further expansion of cocoa plantations. Divine Foundjem Tita, a researcher with the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) which is a partner in this agroforestry project, told Mongabay that following a recent inventory in 2023, cocoa farmers had taken over 60-65% of this community forest established in 2008. “Survival instincts and pressure from the migrant population settling in the area are the reasons farmers have pushed forward for expanding into the forest,” Tita said. In April 2022, Netherlands-based IDH, which works to promote and leverage finance for more sustainable production and trade of commodities like cocoa, along with ICRAF and Telcar, the local presence of agriculture commodity giant Cargill, launched a project to encourage farmers here to plant trees that could produce other valuable fruit on their existing cocoa plantations, instead of expanding into new areas of the forest. The agroforestry initiative is only one component of a wider effort that will also try to improve sustainable cocoa-growing practices and productivity, map high-conservation-value areas in what remains of the community forest, and monitor carbon storage with a view to eventually earning income from carbon credits for both forest and plantations. “The whole idea of promoting agroforestry around the Ntui Community Forest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/forests-finance-agroforestry-in-cameroon-and-reforestation-in-south-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>CAPS, new gas megaproject, aims to power Central Africa, but at what cost, critics ask</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/caps-new-gas-megaproject-aims-to-power-central-africa-but-at-what-cost-critics-ask/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/caps-new-gas-megaproject-aims-to-power-central-africa-but-at-what-cost-critics-ask/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Apr 2023 13:40:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/04/11125616/Caps-visual-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267373</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Deforestation, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Land Conflict, Mongabay Data Studio, Natural Gas, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 60% of people in Central Africa have no access to electricity. An ambitious proposal aims to change that with a network of pipelines, refineries and gas-fired power plants stretching across 11 countries in the region. But critics say the proposed Central African Pipeline System is a mistake. Nathalie Lum, chairwoman of the Central [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 60% of people in Central Africa have no access to electricity. An ambitious proposal aims to change that with a network of pipelines, refineries and gas-fired power plants stretching across 11 countries in the region. But critics say the proposed Central African Pipeline System is a mistake. Nathalie Lum, chairwoman of the Central Africa Business Energy Forum (CABEF), an organization that hosts an annual conference of oil and gas corporations and regional energy ministers, told Mongabay that CAPS will help make the Central Africa region an &#8220;energy poverty-free zone” by 2030. “Access to reliable, affordable energy can help reduce poverty, attract investments, and create jobs, while also providing an important source of revenue for governments.” she said. CABEF describes itself as a platform for developing cooperation between Central African countries which aims to use natural gas, a fossil fuel, to power homes and businesses as well as the mining industry. However, a 2020 study by the International Finance Corporation, the private sector development arm of the World Bank Group, suggests that Africa&#8217;s onshore wind potential is enough to satisfy the entire continent’s current electricity demands 250 times over. The continent also has an abundance of solar energy, which is increasingly affordable to harness. ​​According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, the unit cost of electricity from solar has declined by 85% over the past decade, while the cost of wind energy has declined by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/caps-new-gas-megaproject-aims-to-power-central-africa-but-at-what-cost-critics-ask/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Libreville’s shrinking mangroves leave Gabon’s capital prone to floods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/librevilles-shrinking-mangroves-leave-gabons-capital-prone-to-floods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/librevilles-shrinking-mangroves-leave-gabons-capital-prone-to-floods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2023 13:40:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elodietoto]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/04/06123329/IMG_4261-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267255</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Global Forests]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Gabon, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Governance, Mangroves, Politics, Protected Areas, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2021, Gabon’s space research agency, AGEOS, concluded that the country’s capital, Libreville, had lost nearly 70 hectares (170 acres) of mangroves in three years. That’s an area about a fifth the size of New York City’s Central Park, which “is not much,” says Alfred Ngomanda, commissioner of the National Centre for Scientific and Technological [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2021, Gabon’s space research agency, AGEOS, concluded that the country’s capital, Libreville, had lost nearly 70 hectares (170 acres) of mangroves in three years. That’s an area about a fifth the size of New York City’s Central Park, which “is not much,” says Alfred Ngomanda, commissioner of the National Centre for Scientific and Technological Research of Gabon (CENAREST). &#8220;The surface area of mangroves in Gabon is much larger than that,” he tells Mongabay. “We have a deforestation rate that is not even 1%.&#8221; But while this may be a negligible amount at the national level, on the scale of Libreville, which has 1,883 hectares (4,653 acres) of mangroves, this represents 3.55% — which is worrying, says Magloire Désiré Mounganga, a former scientific coordinator at the ANPN, Gabon’s national parks agency. &#8220;There are several things that threaten it,&#8221; he says. &#8220;First of all, there is erosion, i.e. the rise of the sea, but when I go out into the field I also see urban pressure. It is such that the mangrove ecosystem which is in the urban periphery, unfortunately, is destined to be regularly damaged, if not completely destroyed.&#8221; Libreville&#8217;s skyline. Image by Elodie Toto / Mongabay Mangrove forests form a unique ecosystem at the boundary between land and sea in tropical and subtropical areas. Mangrove trees have intertwined stilt roots that can grow in soil with a high concentration of salt. Hectare for hectare, mangrove forests store more carbon than tropical rainforests, according to French NGO Energy Observer, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/librevilles-shrinking-mangroves-leave-gabons-capital-prone-to-floods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Tracking the moves of Asian forestry companies in Central Africa (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/tracking-the-moves-of-asian-forestry-companies-in-central-africa-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/tracking-the-moves-of-asian-forestry-companies-in-central-africa-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2022 16:42:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alain Karsenty]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/07/20124253/rainforest-gabon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261736</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Forestry, Forests, Timber, Timber Laws, timber trade, Trade, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Asian companies made their entry in force in the 1990s, in Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. In Southeast Asia, companies intensively and unsustainably logged the dipterocarp forests, the tall, straight-trunked trees so valued by the plywood industry. Implicitly, it was decided that there would be only one harvest, leaving heavily degraded forests. What followed was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Asian companies made their entry in force in the 1990s, in Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. In Southeast Asia, companies intensively and unsustainably logged the dipterocarp forests, the tall, straight-trunked trees so valued by the plywood industry. Implicitly, it was decided that there would be only one harvest, leaving heavily degraded forests. What followed was mainly oil palm plantations, with the price per ton of oil doubled from the beginning to the end of the decade. The conglomerates have portfolios of companies adapted to this transition: logging, oil palm, fast-growing tree plantations for pulp. The exploitation of natural forests provides the basis for capital accumulation and government connections facilitate the conversion of degraded forests into agricultural land. In the early 1990s, a powerful Malaysian company, Rimbunan Hijau (RH), developed activities in the three countries mentioned. The company was founded in 1973, its founder was “Chinese-Malaysian.” RH diversified, adopting fields as varied as palm tree plantation or telecommunications. It operated under the name of Shimmer International in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, from the mid-1990s. In Gabon, it created three subsidiaries in order to circumvent the rule that limits the surface area that a single company can hold to 600,000 ha. Logging road in Gabon, 2021. Image by ZB/Mongabay. In Cameroon, where RH established itself in 1995, its Shimmer company operated several licenses through subsidiaries created for the occasion or as subcontractors of Cameroonian beneficiaries. Debroux and Karsenty (1997) describe the objectives and practices of the operator. Two characteristics stand out: the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/tracking-the-moves-of-asian-forestry-companies-in-central-africa-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In Gabon, camera-trap developers find the ideal proving ground for their craft</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/in-gabon-camera-trap-developers-find-the-ideal-proving-ground-for-their-craft/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/in-gabon-camera-trap-developers-find-the-ideal-proving-ground-for-their-craft/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2022 12:02:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manon VerchotSanshey Biswas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/18112613/Red-river-hog-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259368</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, cameras, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Mammals, Protected Areas, Technology, Tracking, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Camera traps are helping researchers get a closer look at pockets of Gabon’s forests that were previously impractical to study. The Central African country has, at 80% by some estimates, the second-largest proportion of forest cover in the world, and only 2.2 million inhabitants. Many of its remote areas are hard to access — and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Camera traps are helping researchers get a closer look at pockets of Gabon’s forests that were previously impractical to study. The Central African country has, at 80% by some estimates, the second-largest proportion of forest cover in the world, and only 2.2 million inhabitants. Many of its remote areas are hard to access — and even harder to monitor. “Gabon in relation to the Congo Basin &#8230; first off, we’re a country that has never faced conflict,” said Brice Roxan Momboua of the National Agency of National Parks (ANPN). “The other strong point is that we have an 80% forest cover. There are zones where humans have never set foot. The majority is intact.” Camera traps have been around for 130 years, but their usefulness in research has picked up sharply in the past two decades. Development of the technology has allowed researchers like Momboua, who leads biomonitoring projects using camera traps in Lopé National Park, to spot species they hadn’t previously seen in some of Gabon’s national parks, like honey badgers (Mellivora capensis) and aardvarks (Orycteropus afer). For Momboua, camera traps are a huge improvement over alternative methods of studying Gabon’s biodiversity, like conducting transects — where researchers walk through a forest looking for traces of animal activity like dung, footprints, or nests. This can be grueling and time-consuming work. But a camera, once in place, can monitor a location deep in the forest for weeks or months and capture whatever passes in front of its sensors, including animals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/in-gabon-camera-trap-developers-find-the-ideal-proving-ground-for-their-craft/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>As animal seed dispersers go the way of the dodo, forest plants are at risk</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/as-animal-seed-dispersers-go-the-way-of-the-dodo-forest-plants-are-at-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/as-animal-seed-dispersers-go-the-way-of-the-dodo-forest-plants-are-at-risk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2022 15:16:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/28144730/Banner-great-hornbill-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255264</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gabon, Galapagos, Global, Mauritania, and Panama]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forest Regeneration, Forestry, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Impact Of Climate Change, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Restoration, Seed Dispersal, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Birds, bats, elephants, apes, rodents and many other animal species spread plant seeds throughout the world. But as those animal populations diminish, so do the plants that rely on wildlife to shift their range, especially as climate change worsens.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The few remaining rainforests on Mauritius whisper with the memory of former residents, now ghosts. This once-lush Indian Ocean island remained mostly uninhabited by humans until 1598, when it became a Dutch port of call. By the time the French government took over some 150 years later and imported slaves to start sugar plantations, the ecological damage was already irreparable. The dodo disappeared, and in the years since would become an icon for extinction. Meanwhile, as jungles fell and humans and domestic animals streamed in, tortoises, parrots, pigeons, fruit bats and giant lizards also dwindled and vanished. Other losses on the island were harder to notice: trees and other plants that relied on those vanished animal species to spread their nuts and seeds. Changes in the plant kingdom are not easily perceived because “we&#8217;re just not seeing the trees within the forest,” says Tammy Mildenstein, a wildlife biologist at Iowa’s Cornell College. But the absence of flora also reverberates, further reducing fauna that rely on those plants for food and homes. In some woodlands, jungles, marshes and grasslands, “vegetation is relatively lush, but you hear only silence,” says Evan Fricke, an ecologist at Rice University. It’s a condition sometimes called empty forest syndrome. “If it doesn&#8217;t have birds and mammals, what happens to those forests?” Fricke asks. In a recent study, his team reported that seed-disbursing creatures have “steeply declined” globally. Their findings wave a red flag, highlighting growing concern about the ability of plant communities to reproduce and survive&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/as-animal-seed-dispersers-go-the-way-of-the-dodo-forest-plants-are-at-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>2021 tropical forest loss figures put zero-deforestation goal by 2030 out of reach</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/2021-tropical-forest-loss-figures-put-zero-deforestation-goal-by-2030-out-of-reach/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/2021-tropical-forest-loss-figures-put-zero-deforestation-goal-by-2030-out-of-reach/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2022 11:27:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/28152446/siberia_GP1SU5IY_PressMedia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255219</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Global Forests]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Bolivia, Brazil, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Latin America, Republic of Congo, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, boreal forests, Climate, Climate Change, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Carbon, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Palm Oil, Peatlands, Permafrost, Plantations, Primary Forests, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Threats To Rainforests, Tipping points, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Tropical forest loss remained consistently high in 2021 with no sign of slowing down, despite commitments by companies and governments to curb deforestation, according to new data from the University of Maryland. The data, available on the Global Forest Watch platform managed by the World Resources Institute (WRI), show that tropical countries lost [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Tropical forest loss remained consistently high in 2021 with no sign of slowing down, despite commitments by companies and governments to curb deforestation, according to new data from the University of Maryland. The data, available on the Global Forest Watch platform managed by the World Resources Institute (WRI), show that tropical countries lost 11.1 million hectares (27.5 million acres) of tree cover in 2021, an area the size of Cuba. Of this total tree loss, 3.75 million hectares (9.3 million acres) occurred in tropical primary forests, the world’s most biologically diverse ecosystems. This means the planet is not on its way to halting and reversing forest loss by 2030, as pledged by 141 countries during last year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, experts say. A handful of countries, most notably Indonesia and Gabon, saw their rates of primary forest loss decline significantly in recent years. But this was offset by high deforestation rates in other tropical countries, such as Brazil and Bolivia. As a result, the tropics still lost 10 football pitches of primary forest per minute in 2021, in the process releasing 2.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHG). That’s equivalent to the annual fossil fuel emissions from India. While the tropics lost 11% less primary forest in 2021 than in 2020, the figure was still almost the same as in 2019. This means that loss of primary tropical forests remains “stubbornly persistent throughout the years,” said Rod Taylor, the global director of WRI’s forests program.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/2021-tropical-forest-loss-figures-put-zero-deforestation-goal-by-2030-out-of-reach/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In Gabon, a community’s plea against logging paves the way for a new reserve</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-gabon-a-communitys-plea-against-logging-paves-the-way-for-a-new-reserve/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-gabon-a-communitys-plea-against-logging-paves-the-way-for-a-new-reserve/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Apr 2022 09:52:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Benjamin Evine-Binet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/12092806/TBNIRouteLiboumba_Massaha_IvindoFM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254713</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Land Conflict, Law Enforcement, Logging, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Resource Conflict, Timber, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAKOKOU, Gabon — In August 2020, the Massaha community in northeastern Gabon made a formal request to the government to declassify a logging concession allocated to a Chinese company, Transport Bois Négoce International (TBNI). They sought to create a protected area that would be managed by the village in this corner of Ogooué-Ivindo province. TBNI [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAKOKOU, Gabon — In August 2020, the Massaha community in northeastern Gabon made a formal request to the government to declassify a logging concession allocated to a Chinese company, Transport Bois Négoce International (TBNI). They sought to create a protected area that would be managed by the village in this corner of Ogooué-Ivindo province. TBNI began aggressively logging the forest soon afterward. Now, after months of mixed signals from the government, Massaha’s request has received a positive response. Gabon&#8217;s minister for water, forests, the sea and the environment, Lee White, visited Massaha on March 22 and 23. He met with the community and visited the abandoned sites of several ancestral villages, as well as a sacred site on the north bank of the Liboumba River that had been completely destroyed by TBNI. Then, he traveled south of the river to an intact sacred site where, at the foot of a bubinga tree (Guibourtia tessmannii), he witnessed a ceremony invoking the spirits of the villagers&#8217; ancestors. “It is not just the forest that speaks to me, but the ancestors as well,” White said after the ceremony. “We came to Massaha to get a better understanding of the community’s request. They are concerned that the forestry activities will destroy their sacred sites, so we came to reassure them.” “We came to Massaha to understand the demands of the population, worried about logging that will destroy the sacred sites, so we came to reassure them” — Lee White (right), Gabon&#8217;s Minister of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-gabon-a-communitys-plea-against-logging-paves-the-way-for-a-new-reserve/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>The chimp doctor will see you now: Medicating apes boost the case for conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/the-chimp-doctor-will-see-you-now-medicating-apes-boost-the-case-for-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/the-chimp-doctor-will-see-you-now-medicating-apes-boost-the-case-for-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Feb 2022 11:52:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manon Verchot]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/02/16120211/Chimps-applying-insects-to-wounds-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252759</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animal Intelligence, Animals, Apes, Charismatic Animals, Chimpanzees, Conservation, Endangered Species, Great Apes, Mammals, Medicine, Research, Videos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Alessandra Mascaro first recorded a video of a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) catching something in the air, putting it in its mouth, and then putting it on the wound of another chimp, she and her colleagues had to watch the footage multiple times to make sense of it. At the time, in November 2019, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Alessandra Mascaro first recorded a video of a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) catching something in the air, putting it in its mouth, and then putting it on the wound of another chimp, she and her colleagues had to watch the footage multiple times to make sense of it. At the time, in November 2019, Mascaro was a volunteer for the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project in Gabon’s Loango National Park, and no one on her team had ever seen anything like it. “At the moment I didn&#8217;t realize what was going on, but I noticed that there was something very cool because other chimpanzees came to observe,” Mascaro told Mongabay over video call. “This is the way [chimps] learn behavior.” Mascaro felt that she was watching something like a “chimp doctor” at work, much like how humans go to doctors when they’re sick. She added that if this was the case, then it would illustrate that humans aren’t as unique as we may think. But there were still unanswered questions: Was this just a one-time thing? And what was it that the chimp had caught from the air and applied to the wound? The team only had to wait one week before they saw it happen again. Mascaro said she was closely observing another chimp with an injury. The chimp, which the researchers had named Freddy, appeared to catch something on a branch, put it in his mouth and then reapplied it to his wound three times. After these two incidents,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/the-chimp-doctor-will-see-you-now-medicating-apes-boost-the-case-for-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Is a European proposal on imported deforestation too punitive? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/is-a-european-proposal-on-imported-deforestation-too-punitive-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/is-a-european-proposal-on-imported-deforestation-too-punitive-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Feb 2022 17:21:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alain Karsenty]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/02/09164002/GP02LNZ_High_res-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252470</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Cerrado, Europe, European Union, Gabon, Global, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Certification, Commentary, Conservation, Deforestation, Forests, Logging, Rainforests, Savannas, timber trade, Trade, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The European Commission&#8217;s plan to counter deforestation associated with certain imported agricultural products was unveiled on November 17, 2021. One third of global deforestation is linked to international trade, and the European Union (plus the UK) is estimated to have an annual “footprint” of about 200,000 hectares, or 16% of global trade-related deforestation. The Commission&#8217;s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The European Commission&#8217;s plan to counter deforestation associated with certain imported agricultural products was unveiled on November 17, 2021. One third of global deforestation is linked to international trade, and the European Union (plus the UK) is estimated to have an annual “footprint” of about 200,000 hectares, or 16% of global trade-related deforestation. The Commission&#8217;s proposal provides that before placing a product on the European market, each company must ensure that it is not linked to a territory that has been deforested after December 31, 2020, by geolocating the parcels from which it comes and by setting up a traceability system. The products concerned are palm oil, soy, cocoa, coffee, beef and wood. Surprisingly, natural rubber from rubber trees is not included, even though it is one of the drivers of deforestation, although not the most important one. The cornerstone of this project is the “due diligence” obligation imposed on importers, i.e. the set of verifications that they must carry out to ensure the origin of the product to be imported, its legality, and the conditions of its production, thus reducing the risk of marketing products involved in deforestation. Diverse wildlife like this young gorilla depend on forests in low-deforestation countries like Gabon. Image © Markus Mauthe/Greenpeace Media Library. A broad “amnesty” for recent deforestation One of the main elements of this draft regulation is the mention of a “cut-off date” on deforestation set at 12/31/2020. In practical terms, this means that if the conversion of forest has taken place&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/is-a-european-proposal-on-imported-deforestation-too-punitive-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>DNA assessment confirms Gabon as last stronghold of forest elephants</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/dna-assessment-confirms-gabon-as-last-stronghold-of-forest-elephants/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/dna-assessment-confirms-gabon-as-last-stronghold-of-forest-elephants/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2021 19:40:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/19153913/0I3A5062-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=249682</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gabon and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, DNA, Elephants, Genetics, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Species, Surveying, Tracking, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study has found that the small nation of Gabon is the “last stronghold” for the critically endangered African forest elephant. Researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a DNA-based population assessment of forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) across Gabon, which involved extracting genetic material from fresh elephant dung. The results, published Nov. 18 in Global Ecology [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study has found that the small nation of Gabon is the “last stronghold” for the critically endangered African forest elephant. Researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a DNA-based population assessment of forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) across Gabon, which involved extracting genetic material from fresh elephant dung. The results, published Nov. 18 in Global Ecology and Conservation, suggest there are more than 95,000 forest elephants present throughout the country, which represents about 60-70% of the species’ global population. “Gabon has definitely experienced some poaching … particularly in the border area with Cameroon in the northeast of the country,” study co-author Emma Stokes, regional director for Central Africa at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told Mongabay in a phone interview. “I guess we were quietly confident that the population status of elephants in the rest of the country was reasonably good. But I would say this [survey result] was definitely as good as we could have hoped for.” Researchers from WCS and Gabon’s National Park Agency (ANPN) conducted this survey over a period of three years, collecting dung samples and then analyzing each sample’s DNA. “You get kind of a unique genetic print from that — like a unique fingerprint — from that dung pile,” Stokes said. “And then if you sample lots of dung piles, you start to be able to see differences between those genetic fingerprints and you can identify which are the same individuals and which are different individuals.” In March 2021, the IUCN declared that African forest elephants (Loxodonta&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/dna-assessment-confirms-gabon-as-last-stronghold-of-forest-elephants/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/dna-assessment-confirms-gabon-as-last-stronghold-of-forest-elephants/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Mixed signals from Gabon officials to villagers fighting to save a forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/mixed-signals-from-gabon-officials-to-villagers-fighting-to-save-a-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/mixed-signals-from-gabon-officials-to-villagers-fighting-to-save-a-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Oct 2021 15:26:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Benjamin Evine-Binet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maria Angeles Salazar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/11151039/TBNI-AAC-2019-grumes-GSEZ-4A.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=248068</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Logging, Protected Areas, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAKOKOU, Gabon — Villagers in northeastern Gabon have embarked on a first-of-its-kind initiative to reclassify part of a logging concession as a protected area and hunting ground, citing its ecological and heritage values. The concession is held by Transport Bois Négoce International (TBNI), which began logging it in June. But residents of the Massaha group [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[MAKOKOU, Gabon — Villagers in northeastern Gabon have embarked on a first-of-its-kind initiative to reclassify part of a logging concession as a protected area and hunting ground, citing its ecological and heritage values. The concession is held by Transport Bois Négoce International (TBNI), which began logging it in June. But residents of the Massaha group of villages have flagged irregularities ranging from uncontrolled felling, to obstruction of waterways, to partially cut trees left hanging from others and posing a safety hazard. &#8220;Only a few days ago, we went into the bush with my husband, and saw that it was in a bad state. There was even one of my first cousin’s nets there, tangled up in branches that were blocking the river. That&#8217;s the side they&#8217;ve started logging,” said Mariane Ndjamendonga, a village resident. “If they start on the other side, what will we do then? We won’t be able to live anymore. They are still doing so much and our canoes can’t get through anymore. Ever since we’ve been here, they’ve been working non-stop.&#8221; A badly damaged tree in the TBNI concession. Image courtesy of Ivindo FM. In August 2020, the villagers filed a proposal to protect an area spanning 11,300 hectares (28,000 acres) in two zones separated by the Liboumba River. There has been no logging south of the river. This southern area has unique ecological value. It is an almost undamaged ecosystem, home to many protected animal species including elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas, leopards, pangolins and dwarf crocodiles,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/mixed-signals-from-gabon-officials-to-villagers-fighting-to-save-a-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Fomenting a &#8220;Perfect Storm&#8221; to push companies to change: Q&#038;A with Glenn Hurowitz</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/fomenting-a-perfect-storm-to-push-companies-to-change-qa-with-glenn-hurowitz/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/fomenting-a-perfect-storm-to-push-companies-to-change-qa-with-glenn-hurowitz/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2021 08:50:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/09/03215754/mighty_0043-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=246239</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature conservation Influencers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Gabon, Global, and Singapore]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Beef, Business, Cacao, Cattle, Climate Change, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Palm Oil, philanthropy, Rainforests, Soy, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the past five years, Mighty Earth has emerged as one of the most influential advocacy groups when it comes pushing companies to clean up their supply chains. The group, which had its origins as the Forest Heroes campaign before evolving into a standalone non-profit organization, has targeted companies that produce, trade, and source deforestation-risk [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Over the past five years, Mighty Earth has emerged as one of the most influential advocacy groups when it comes pushing companies to clean up their supply chains. The group, which had its origins as the Forest Heroes campaign before evolving into a standalone non-profit organization, has targeted companies that produce, trade, and source deforestation-risk commodities like beef, palm oil, cocoa, rubber, and soy. Mighty Earth&#8217;s approach typically starts with research and analysis of how commodities move through supply chains. From there, the group creates colorful and hard-hitting campaigns that usually take aim at consumer-facing companies, like Kellogg or Burger King, or firms that sell to them, like American agribusiness giant Cargill or Indonesia&#8217;s Korindo. Mighty Earth will often collaborate with activist investors, like Green Century Capital Management, and leverage connections with media outlets to amplify the impact of its campaigns. Mighty Earth is led by Glenn Hurowitz, an activist who has spent the better part of the past 20 years advocating for forests and forest-dependent communities. In that capacity, Hurowitz has played a central role in pressing some of the world&#8217;s largest companies to adopt zero deforestation, peatlands, and exploitation (ZDPE) commitments. Glenn Hurowitz in Gabon Arguably Hurowitz&#8217;s biggest &#8220;win&#8221; came in 2013, when he persuaded Kuok Khoon Hong, the CEO of Wilmar, the world&#8217;s largest palm oil trader, to meet with NGOs about its sourcing practices. Already under pressure from a range of campaigners, financiers, and other actors at the time, Wilmar eventually would go on to establish&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/fomenting-a-perfect-storm-to-push-companies-to-change-qa-with-glenn-hurowitz/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>&#8216;Stubborn optimism&#8217; for elephants fuels Indigenous conservation effort</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2021/07/podcast-stubborn-optimism-for-elephants-fuels-indigenous-conservation-effort/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2021/07/podcast-stubborn-optimism-for-elephants-fuels-indigenous-conservation-effort/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2021 20:09:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/07/28212714/Elephants-at-Reteti-Photo-by-Ami-Vitale_1210px-1-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245298</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Indigenous-led conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, Gabon, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Climate Change, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecosystem Engineers, Elephants, Environment, Film, Habitat Loss, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Mammals, Poaching, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Today we’re looking at Indigenous-led projects and the latest research informing conservation of elephants, the largest land animal in existence and one of the world’s most widely recognized and beloved wildlife species. There are three types of elephants in the world, all of which are endangered: there’s the Asian elephant and two species found in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Today we’re looking at Indigenous-led projects and the latest research informing conservation of elephants, the largest land animal in existence and one of the world’s most widely recognized and beloved wildlife species. There are three types of elephants in the world, all of which are endangered: there’s the Asian elephant and two species found in Africa, the bush elephant and the forest elephant. We discuss conservation of the African species on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. Our first guest is National Geographic photographer and documentary filmmaker Ami Vitale, who has recently made a short film called Shaba about an elephant rescued by the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, which is owned and operated by an Indigenous Samburu community in Kenya. Vitale tells us about how Shaba the elephant overcame the trauma of watching poachers kill her mother to became the first matriarch elephant at the sanctuary; the Samburu people, especially Samburu women, who run the sanctuary and care for orphaned elephants with love and dedication; and how you can watch her new short film that tells the story of Shaba and Reteti. Plus, Vitale tells us there’s a surprise in store for those who seek out the film on World Elephant Day, August 12th. Our second guest today is John Poulsen, an associate professor at Duke University in the US whose work as a tropical ecologist and conservationist has focused on Central Africa for over 20 years. According to Poulsen, African forest elephants are important ecosystem engineers, but we know a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2021/07/podcast-stubborn-optimism-for-elephants-fuels-indigenous-conservation-effort/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Gabon becomes first African country to get paid for protecting its forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/gabon-becomes-first-african-country-to-get-paid-for-protecting-its-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/gabon-becomes-first-african-country-to-get-paid-for-protecting-its-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2021 12:58:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jim Tan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/07/20124834/elephants-gabon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245014</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Evolving Conservation and Global Forests]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, carbon, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Conservation Philosophy, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Innovation, Nature-based climate solutions, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Redd, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Sustainable Forest Management, transforming conservation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2019, Norway committed to pay $150 million to Gabon to protect its forests under the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). After independent verification of the country&#8217;s deforestation rates in 2016 and 2017, Gabon recently received its first $17 million payment, making it the first African country to receive a results-based payment for reducing emissions [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[In 2019, Norway committed to pay $150 million to Gabon to protect its forests under the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). After independent verification of the country&#8217;s deforestation rates in 2016 and 2017, Gabon recently received its first $17 million payment, making it the first African country to receive a results-based payment for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). “I think it’s good news,” said Denis Sonwa, senior scientist for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Cameroon. “It shows that REDD+ is technically possible, but for it to become a reality we need some sort of dynamic domestic policy.” CAFI was founded in 2015 as a collaborative agreement between six central African countries — the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon — and six financial partners: the European Union, France, Norway, Germany, South Korea and the Netherlands. CAFI is based around the REDD+ mechanism developed by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The idea that underpins REDD+ is that developing nations should be able to financially benefit from the ecosystem services that their forests provide, such as carbon storage and as reservoirs of biodiversity. The REDD+ concept has been around since 2005 and trialed in various forms, with varying degrees of success. With 88% of the country covered in tropical rainforest and an average deforestation rate of less than 0.1% over the last 30 years, Gabon is what’s known as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/gabon-becomes-first-african-country-to-get-paid-for-protecting-its-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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