Search

Gabon's economic map is expected to be re-drawn with the creation of 10 economic centres, including three extractive-industry centres (the manganese complex in Moanda-Franceville, the iron complex in Belinga, and the hydrocarbons complex in Port-Gentil); four Green Gabon centres (Oyem, Mouila-Ndendé, Mayumba, Lastourville-Koulamoutou); and three diversified centres (Estuaire, Booué and Lambaréné).

Table 2.1 Gabon's principal trade-related laws and regulations, 2013
Sector / Instrument or Law
Environment / Law No. 16/93 of 26 August 1993

2.8. In 2006 Gabon adopted the GPRSP, which identifies five objectives: consolidation of the macroeconomic framework; growth by means of economic diversification and regional integration; human development and the fight against poverty; territorial planning and the preservation of the environment; and consolidation of the rule of law, administrative reform and regional integration. These objectives are backed by a programme of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform, supported by the International Monetary Fund since May 2007.

3.28. Gabon continues to impose prohibitions and restrictions pursuant to the multilateral environmental agreements it has signed. Within the country, hunting permits must conform to the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and according to the authorities this rule consequently also applies to official exports of hunting trophies. At the customs cordon, Gabon applies control measures on ozone depleting substances in accordance with the common framework adopted by the CEMAC member countries (common report, section 3). It also applies the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is under way. Gabon ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in 2010. The authorities have indicated that there is also a ban on imports of non-recyclable plastics.

The clearly established goal is to achieve, by 2020, a fourfold reduction in Gabon's food imports, to re-establish the country's self-sufficiency as regards food, fishery, and livestock products, and to make Gabon a net exporter of agro-industrial products, all while complying with the principles of integrated farming and sustainable development.

4.1. Agriculture is of vital importance for employment in Gabon (section 1.1). Approximately 80% of the total area of the country is equatorial forest (half of which is in the primary state), and 1.1% is used for agricultural purposes. Gabon has natural resources and weather conditions which are favourable for agriculture. Rainfall is abundant and the hydrographic network, fed by the rivers Ogooué and Nyanga, is widespread and dense.

4.7. In 2008, Gabon adopted its Sustainable Agricultural Development Policy with the objective, in particular, of galvanizing this sector to make it a key driver for the growth of national wealth and for job creation. Other aims of the policy are the achievement of self-sufficiency in food, the diversification of exports, and a one-quarter reduction in imports by 2016.

4.1.3.2 Market garden produce
(...)
4.23. As part of the "Green Gabon" pillar of the national development plan, the IGAD is implementing the Agricultural Development and Investment Project (PRODIAG). The project will operate primarily in the food crop, market gardening, small-scale livestock breeding and agri-foods processing sectors, through a substantial increase in investment.

To this end, fishing and aquaculture policy will revolve around the following measures:
- The implementation of a sustainable management framework for fishery resources ;

To ensure sustainable management of the exceptional submarine biodiversity of the Gabonese coastline, the Government has established the Blue Gabon Project, which is a participatory framework aimed at preserving this ecosystem by putting into place a system of rational management and exploitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf.