๐ŸŒณ Community in Gabon saves ancestral forest from logging

๐ŸŒณ Community in Gabon saves ancestral forest from logging

A local community in Gabon managed to reclassify a logging concession area as a protected area in order to safeguard its ecological and heritage values.

Linn Winge
Linn Winge

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A local community in Gabon wanted to protect their forests and their ecosystems from turning into a logging concession area. After a year and a half, they finally managed to reclassify the site as a protected area.

After months of mixed signals from the government, the Massaha village received a positive response after Lee White, the environmental minister, visited the town. Besides showing him some of the villageโ€™s ancestry and culture, the villagers showed him how the previous logging has affected ecosystems in the area and what the outcome could be if commercial activity continued.

โ€œIt is not just the forest that speaks to me, but the ancestors,โ€ White said after the ceremony. โ€œWe came to Massaha to get a better understanding of the communityโ€™s request. They are concerned that the forestry activities will destroy their sacred sites, so we came to reassure them.โ€

Now, the government has to decide how they are going to protect the forest. Mongabay writes that โ€œthe legal status that is decided on will be of great importance as this will be the first protected area in Gabon established at the request of a local community. In doing so, Gabon demonstrates its commitment to meet the โ€œ30 by 30โ€ goal that emerged from the recent COP15 biodiversity meeting in Geneva.โ€

Protecting our forests and ecosystems allows a greener and more sustainable future to come sooner.

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