Post 1 Gabon: Politics, Poverty, and the Environment

Anne D
Anne D
Sep 1, 2018 · 5 min read

Gabon, a country that occupies the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, is considered a middle-income country with a population of 2.06 million, and has a weighted score of 72.5 and ranked 88th of 178 on the Fragile States Index which is a report that determines how vulnerable a country is to collapse or conflict, which puts Gabon in a warning category. While Gabon is considered a rich country because of its oil reserves and rainforests, political unrest and economic decline currently plague the country, as well as environmental issues. In 2016, Ali Bongo Onimba and previous Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Ping contested for the presidential position, and there was public outcry when it was announced on August 31 that Bongo was victorious, and only by a margin of about 1.5% with Bongo winning 49.80% to 48.23%[1].

Ali Bongo left, Jean Ping right

Members of the opposition, or those who are opposed to Ali Bongo’s rule because his family has a history of political corruption, accused that the election was rigged, especially because of repeated delays to announce the results as well as what appeared to be voting irregularities. These irregularities primarily consisted in the 9th province, that of which Ali Bongo himself is from, that had a 99.9% turn out rate which is very high in comparison to the 59% national turnout rate, and every vote was for Ali Bongo. While this already seems a bit odd, it was also revealed that the number of voters documented was more than who actually lived in that province by several thousands more[2]. This is relevant to current updates as another election was scheduled for December of 2016 but has since been delayed twice; initially delayed until April of 2018, and now for October of 2018[3]. After missing the scheduled election date in April, the constitutional court was dissolved and a 40-member interim was formed to preside over the country until the October election, although no official date has been released[4]. During his time of presidency after the 2016 election, in January of 2018 Ali Bongo, with permission from parliament, made changes to the Gabon Constitution which would allow him to decide policies for the nation without consultation, which exponentially wears away separation of powers in the state, and it looks like the intention is to create a constitutional autocracy[5]. Another major concern is the unequal wealth distribution in Gabon. Gabon is considered a wealthier African country due to the resources that reside within the country, particularly the oil reserves in which the Gabonese government heavily relies on to boost its economy.

Oil makes up 80% of Gabon’s exports, 45% of which go to the GDP, and the GDP stands at about 14.21 billion USD[6]. Currently, many people are asking “Why are Gabonese people so poor?”. Roughly 40% of the population is unemployed[7], and one third of people are below the poverty line, which is living on less than 1.50 USD per day[8]. Not surprisingly, Gabon is ranked 109th of 188 on the Human Development Index in its world ranking, and this may be part of the reason. There is so much inequality in the distribution of wealth because not only are oil reserves declining, the Gabonese economy is not diverse as well; the government doesn’t promote other sectors nearly as much because of the heavy economical reliance on oil, and the main way the government has been promoting non-oil sectors is through incentives to foreign investors. Gabon is ranked 167th of 190 in a Doing Business Report, and it is mostly likely because of its lack of promotion of other economic sectors in the country[9]. One way the government has committed itself to helping struggling citizens is through the program Assises Sociales, or the SIGH, which intends to use social programs to that will aid low-income individuals develop income-generating activities and reduce unequal access to basic public services such as clean drinking water, healthcare, and electricity. Another pressing issue is the poaching of the forest elephant in the rainforest of Gabon.

These particular elephants are prized for their hard-ivory tusks which allow for more intricate carvings. It is estimated that about 50–100 elephants are poached daily, and that the elephant population has declined by 70% in less than a decade with an estimated 45,000 left[10]. There are current attempts to combat poaching, however; conservationists have begun using hi-tech tracking collars on forest elephants to prevent elephants from nearing areas that are considered danger zones, or areas that are well-known poaching sites[11]. Once an elephant gets within proximity of a danger zone, rangers are sent out to the elephants’ location and lure them away to a safer location. British troops have also joined the fight, even if there are differing intentions. While their primary cause is to stop extremist groups in the region, in the process of doing so they are helping the cause of saving these elephants[12].

Ali Bongo front, stockpiles of elephant tusks being destroyed in background; Ivory smuggling bust- NY Times

Elephant poachers are strongly connected to international crime networks, particularly the terrorist network Boko Haram, and it is suspected that the Boko Haram organization has poached around 25,000 elephants over the past decade in just this one region. With elephants disappearing, so too does the forest as forest is cleared to set up poaching camps, along with organizations who clear the forest for profit as well rising rates of urbanization.The rainforest covers 88% of the Gabon territory, and while there are 13 national parks and 20 protected marine zones, deforestation from urban sprawl remains a problem and many are concerned that there still aren’t enough conservation efforts. A leading example of this is the expansion of Libreville, the capital city of Gabon. With continual deforestation comes weakened defenses against natural disasters like coastal erosion, and it is likely that surrounding residential areas will be flooded[13].

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/gabon-election-results-disputed-incumbent-ali-bongo-victor-jean-ping

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/opinion/save-gabon-from-election-fraud.html

[3] https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/66771/gabon-legislative-elections-delayed-until-april-2018-protests-likely

[4] https://www.dw.com/en/gabon-announces-40-member-interim-cabinet/a-43663641

[5] https://m.news24.com/Africa/News/gabon-president-defends-constitutional-change-after-parliament-gives-okay-20180111

[6] https://tradingeconomics.com/gabon/exports

[7] http://www.irinnews.org/report/61103/gabon-poverty-amid-plenty-unemployment-booms

[8] https://borgenproject.org/why-is-gabon-poor-despite-natural-resources/

[9] https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/gabon/overview#3

[10] https://phys.org/news/2017-10-forest-elephant-populations-collapse-central.html

[11] https://m.news24.com/Africa/News/gabon-fights-elephant-poachers-with-hi-tech-tracker-collars-20180208

[12] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/12/paradise-and-hell-the-battle-to-save-the-forest-elephant

[13] https://www.yahoo.com/news/environment-loser-gabon-capitals-rush-growth-032154697.html

Sub-Saharan Africa/Mizzou

Globalization Class

Anne D

Written by

Anne D

Sub-Saharan Africa/Mizzou

Globalization Class

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