Gabon

Gabon’s Environment Minister Reflects on Conservation Successes, Future Challenges

By Francis Kokutse
Over the past few years, Gabon has been successful in its forest conservation efforts. The country has also been able to work hard to achieve the goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to the 1.5-degree target. Minister of Water, Forests, the Sea, and Environment, Lee White, talks to IPS Correspondent Francis Kokutse:

Poverty and Slavery Often Go Hand-in-Hand for Africa’s Children

By Jeffrey Moyo
“Poverty has become part of me,” says 13-year-old Aminata Kabangele from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “I have learned to live with the reality that nobody cares for me.”

Anger Seethes in Gabon after Wood Company Sacks Protesting Workers

By Ngala Killian Chimtom
There is rising anger among trade unionists, environmentalists and civil society groups in Gabon after a wood company, Rain Forest Management (RFM), sacked 38 fixed-term workers last month in Mbomao, Ogooué-Ivindo province.

Falling Oil Prices Threaten Fragile African Economies

By Thalif Deen
The sharp decline in world petroleum prices - hailed as a bonanza to millions of motorists in the United States - is threatening to undermine the fragile economies of several African countries dependent on oil for their sustained growth.
Forest elephants in the Mbeli River, Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Congo. Central African countries are developing strategies against climate change. Credit: Thomas Breuer

CENTRAL AFRICA: Tentative Steps Towards Adaptation

By IPS Correspondents
Governments and civil society organisations in Central Africa are slowly developing strategies in response to global warming. But specialists say the steps being taken seem hesitant in the face of emerging realities.