Gabon Promised Protection
12 Nov 2014
"The Government of Gabon has announced the decision to create a new marine protected area network of ten marine parks covering more than 18,000 square miles (over 46,000 square kilometers) that will safeguard whales, sea turtles, and other marine species inhabiting the country’s coastal and offshore ecosystems — a network of marine parks covering about 23% of Gabon’s territorial waters and EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone).
The announcement was made by His Excellency The President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba in Sydney as the world’s conservationists gather for the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress.
Said President Ali Bongo Ondimba: “Today I can announce our decision to create a network of marine parks covering about 23% of Gabon’s territorial waters and EEZ, within which no commercial fishing will be allowed. This will include a 27,000 square kilometer extension of Mayumba National Park, extending out to the limit of our EEZ. The remainder of the EEZ will be divided into community and commercial fishing zones and oil exclusion zones, where industrial fishing is not allowed close to strategic infrastructure.”
The new Gabon marine protected area network complements an existing terrestrial protected area system anchored by 13 national parks created in 2002.
“Gabon will become the first Central African Nation to protect its marine resources with the establishment of a marine protected area network,” said John Robinson, Wildlife Conservation Society Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science and IUCN Vice President. “This announcement by President Ali Bongo Ondimba is a great way to start the IUCN World Parks Congress which aims to show that protected areas are vital to securing Earth’s biodiversity.”
