MAN OF PEACE President Bongo opens the UN summit in New York ENERGY Asian tigers join the hunt forelephants in the oil fields CULTURE Georges M’Bourou takes his artistic talent to this year’s Expo in Japan

Manofpeace

GABONAUTUMN 2005ECONOMY . POLITICS . CULTURE . TOURISM

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President Omar Bongo Ondimbaopens the UN summit in New York

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The forests,lagoons, wetlands,beaches andsavannahs ofLoango are teeming withwildlife fromreptiles and birdsto monkeys, hipposand crocodiles

NATIONAL PARKS LOANGO

GABON . AUTUMN 2005 23

L ONG before humanscame to dominate Africa,hippos probably wal-lowed in the waves whilebuffalo and elephantsfrolicked along the

beaches all the way from Angola toSenegal. Today, the only sizeable pro-tected area of its kind along Africa’sAtlantic shoreline is in Gabon — abouttwo degrees south of the Equator.

This thousand square miles (1,550sq km) of magic, known as Loango,was defined in 2002 as part ofPresident Bongo Ondimba’s bold andambitious plan to create a nationalpark network. The park is a beautifuland complex mosaic of landscapes,including forests, lagoons swarmingwith crocodiles and fish, wetlands andsavannahs as well as nearly 60 miles(100km) of wild beaches.

Here you will see elephants lumber-ing along the sand, hippos playing inthe surf and, if you are lucky, rain-forest gorillas rambling across a patchof savannah between the trees.“When you get up close to the gorillasthey are unbelievably enormous,” saysChris Illemassene, a recent visitor toLoango. “They are breathtaking.”

But there is much more. Loango is“the jewel in the crown” of the GabonNational Parks system, says Dr LeeWhite, the British biologist who headsthe New York-based WildlifeConservation Society’s (WCS) Gabonprogramme. And, in his view, it maybe “the best park in Africa today”.

For several months each year thebeaches of Loango are home to hugeleatherback turtles which come ashoreto lay eggs and then disappear intothe sea to join the humpback and killerwhales that are seasonally in abun-

dance. Throughout the year the park isteeming with elephants, buffalo, smallgame and colourful birds such astouracos, hornbills and parrots.

“If, after all that, you thought youhad died and gone to heaven, justwait until you spot the forest elephants. They are smaller than theircousins who live on the savannah, andrather shy. You will probably needpatience to get close,” saysIllemassene. But be prepared for a surprise. These elephants are partial tothe mildly hallucinogenic plant, iboga,which grows near the coast and canmake them aggressive. “The drunkenpachyderms get incredibly stoned.”

The savannahs are a good place tosee red river hogs, graceful sitatungaantelopes and numerous small pri-mates, including red-capped mange-beys. You might be lucky to spot, or atleast hear, chimpanzees or be especial-ly fortunate and have a daylight sight-ing of a handsome male leopard.

Hypnotic powerKayaking the backwaters and lagoonsor exploring the rivers by motorboatare the only ways to penetrate thedense forest. Keep an eye out for hippos and crocodiles, and birds of allsorts in the mangroves at the water’sedge. “As you surrender to the hyp-notic power of the rainforest, in thegrand scheme of life you will suddenlyfeel very small,” says Illemassene.

Birdwatching here is excellent, withmore than 340 species recorded in thepark. The Loango weaver, African rivermartin, Rosy bee-eater and Forbes’splover are all regulars. Finally, there isthe simple pleasure of spending anafternoon walking along the Atlanticbeach, keeping an ever-careful eye out

for elephants and buffalo, but enjoy-ing the ghost crabs and sea birds asyou watch the sun set over the sea.

The best ways to get to the park arefrom the north at Iguéla or from thesouth at Gamba, the Shell Oil com-plex. Iguéla is a two-hour drive fromthe airport at Omboué, which has atwice-weekly service from Libreville.There are three or four flights a weekfrom Libreville to Gamba.

From Gamba there is good access tothe southern part of the park. Thereare several lodges and camps in theSette Cama area on the NdogoLagoon, an excellent place to startexploring. The World Wide Fund forNature (WWF) runs the southern partof the park and, backed by somefunding from the EU, is involved in anumber of interesting community-based ecotourism projects.

The northern part of the park ismanaged by Operation Loango, apartnership between the Gabon gov-ernment, the Wildlife ConservationSociety and the privately ownedSociété de Conservation etDéveloppement (SCD). The SCD ownsand runs the stylish new LoangoLodge located on the border of thepark overlooking Iguéla Lagoon.

Operation Loango emerged from achance meeting between RomboutSwanborn and Mike Fay, the WildlifeConservation Society scientist whowalked across central Africa severalyears ago (see page 24). He wasinstrumental in the transformation ofan old fishing camp into LoangoLodge, the base for Operation Loango.Meanwhile, Swanborn, a major share-holder of SCD, grew up in the areawhile his father ran the Shell pro-gramme at Gamba. Swanborn’s aim is

AnimalIf you want to experience heavenon earth, visit the jewel in thecrown of Gabon’s national parkswhere the wildlife is breathtaking magic

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MICHAEL FAY, the American scientist who first arrived in equatorial Africato study the one habitat where gorillas still thrive, provided the inspira-tion to set up Gabon’s network of national parks. In the 1990s he

became aware of the ecological damage being done to the Congo Basin fromuncontrolled logging and other human activities. After persuading NationalGeographic magazine and the Wildlife Conservation Society to sponsor him, heset out to walk 2,000 miles to the coast, collecting scientific data from the unex-plored forests and swamps that lay between him and the Atlantic. Accompaniedby National Geographic magazine photographer Michael Nichols, and guided bypygmies, Fay’s Megatransect team, as it became known, set off on the 15-monthtrek from the Democratic Republic of Congo, soon crossing the border intoGabon before arriving on a beach in what is now part of Loango National Park inDecember 2000. During this epic and perilous journey, the team experiencedeverything from mosquitoes and humid heat as they tramped through swampsand dense forests to eye-opening moments when they came across gorillas whohad never seen humans before and rounded up their families to stare at thestrange visitors wearing clothes.

Fay’s determination and drive took him and his pygmy trackers through someof the richest, toughest and least understood ecosystems on Earth.

When President Bongo Ondimba heard about the “crazy” American walkingacross his country, he wanted to meet him. Several months after reaching theAtlantic, Fay found himself in a New York hotel suite showing Nichols’s stunningpictures — of elephants in the forest, gorillas in the clearings and hippos on thebeach — and telling stories of the marvels of the forests to the mesmerisedPresident. The talks and picture shows continued and in less than a year Gabonhad a national parks system comprising more than 11 per cent of the country’sland area. Fay, and a dedicated and capable group of others, had accomplishedone of the great environmental success stories of the young millennium. ■

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

to use the profits from OperationLoango’s sustainable ecotourism activ-ities, including the operation of thelodge, to fund programmes to protectand manage the wildlife on which itdepends. “As a businessman I find itvery important that we demonstratethat you can earn money by protectingnature,” he says.

A major goal of Operation Loango is to involve the local community,including the former hunters, as safariguides. “They now can use theirknowledge of nature in a sustainablemanner which is, in fact, a better job,”says Swanborn.

Operation Loango has alreadytrained several dozen “eco-guides”and also “eco-guards”, who help tomanage the park. It is funding severalprojects, including animal and archae-ological research, and cleaning up rub-bish from passing ships that has beenwashed ashore over the years. As aresult, Loango’s beaches are nowamong the most pristine and beautifulin the world.

The next goal is to take theOperation Loango model and apply itto other parks in Gabon, and other

Gabon’s 13 nationalparks, were defined in 2002 to protect the country’s virgin rainforests for posterity, to createjobs and encouragetourism

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parts of the world. As Swanborn says:“We need to develop a rational way toutilise the natural resources, optimis-ing revenues while not compromisingthe long-term survival potential of thearea and its residents.” ■

Robert J. Ross

Suggested readingTravels in West Africaby Mary Kinglsey, originally pub-lished in 1895, and published byNational Geographic AdventureClassics, is the account of hertravels into the African jungles,where the tribes were reputed to be ferocious and cannibalistic.

Albert Schweitzer, a Biography, published by the Albert SchweitzerLibrary, tells the story of the NobelPrize-winning humanitarian whomoved to Gabon in 1912 and set up a hospital in Lambaréné.

The Bradt Travel Guide to Gabon,São Tomé and Príncipe by SophieWarne, covers everything a first-timevisitor might need to know.

Gabon’sNational Parks

Pongara

Akanda Crystalmountains

Lopé

Waka Mount Birougou

BateképlateauxMouklaba-

Doudou

Mayumba

Loango

Ivindo

Mwagné

Minkébé

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Any visit to the parkshould include a gamedrive through the forestzones and the savannah.Sometimes elephantsamble near the beachsurf, punch-drunk on amildly hallucinogenicplant called iboga. Youwon’t be imaginingthings either if you spotGabon’s giant viper orbright red river hogs

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Useful websitesGabon National Parkswww.gabonnationalparks.comThis is a goldmine of information on thenational parks, pinpointing each park’s animal population

Operation Loangowww.operation-loango.comCheck out this website for details aboutLoango National Park, activities, accom-modation, including Loango Lodge, andhow to book it online. There are details of air and boat timetables and lots offacts, figures and background information

Sport fishing at Iguélawww.fishinggabon.comFor pages of illustrated details about game fishing along the southern coast

Mistral Voyageswww.ecotourisme-gabon.comFor ecotourism in Gabon and info aboutthe agencies that can arrange transportand accommodation

Eurafrique Voyageswww.gabon-destinationinsolite.comAlso offers ecotourism opportunities

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)www.panda.orgOutlines the WWF’s work in Gabonthrough its long-term work with park and wildlife authorities, the local population, research institutes and the private sector

Conservation Internationalwww.conservation.orgIf you’re interested in conservation worldwide, this site will keep you up todate on the latest developments and theaims of Conservation International

Wildlife Conservation Societywww.wcs.orgClick here for news about the WCS’s work in Gabon, as well as its otheractivities worldwide

Ecofacwww.ecofac.orgMore information on conservation inCentral Africa including Gabon, plusexplanations of biodiversity

National Geographicwww.nationalgeographic.comA huge site with information about animals, nature, geography, travel, exploration and much more

TurtlesNOVEMBER - MARCHSome years the leatherback turtles start moving ashore to lay their eggs as

early as October, but the best time to see them in their nesting grounds is

between mid-November and March

WhalesJULY - SEPTEMBERThis is a spectacular sight as hundreds and thousands of humpbacks make

their way up the Gabonese coast to Cap Lopez

FishingNOVEMBER - APRILGame fishing for tarpon and other big fish is probably most enjoyable during

the short dry season in December and January

Hippo visibilityALL YEARHippos are noisy, sociable animals, normally found in small groups which spendmost of the day in the water, often with just their ears, eyes and upper nostrilsabove the surface

Large primates and other mammals (Gorillas, monkeys, elephants, buffalos)

ALL YEARLoango has monkeys galore, notably De Brazza’s monkey, which lives along theAtlantic coast in small groups and is noted for its love of swimming. Westernlowland or rainforest gorillas often come to the beach.So, too, do elephants, which enjoy the saline soil. Forest buffalo live in lowlandrainforest areas, close to water and grassy areas

Reptiles(Crocodiles, lizards, snakes)ALL YEARBeware of crocodiles in Gabon’s lagoons and rivers. They can often be difficult

to spot in the daytime because of their camouflage. But at night their red eyes

are a dead giveaway, staring out like torchlights, as they try to hide among the

foliage along the riverbanks. Watch out, too, for vipers. They can grow up to 4ft

(1.2m) long and swallow a small monkey

BirdsALL YEARThe best time for bird spotting is August to September. October to December

are pretty good as well. But there is plenty for the sharp-eyed visitor through-

out the seasons. Rainforests are a birdwatcher’s paradise and as many as 680

species of birds have been recorded in Gabon

MosquitoesOCTOBER - APRILMosquitoes, tsetse flies and other insects proliferate near rivers and swampy

areas, especially between dusk and dawn and during the wet season, so use

insect repellent and cover up where possible

Walking trailsALL YEARHiking trails meander through pristine forests, along deserted beaches and

through the savannah. Locals who know where the wildlife hang out have

been trained as eco-guides. Can be combined with canoe trips in wet season

Burning savannahsAUGUST - SEPTEMBERNot at all dangerous and really quite spectacular, say those who have seen the

controlled burning of the open areas of high grass and isolated shrubs

BEST SIGHTINGS

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Whalewatching is a spectacular experience ashundreds of singinghumpbacks flip anddive along thecoast. Meanwhile,birds mass on wetlands andcolourful crabs goon a beach crawl