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His Excellency, President Ali Bongo Ondimba spoke to RIO+20 last week and laid out the progress of Gabon on sustainability issues.
His Excellency stated that since Rio1992, Gabon has endeavoured to create an institutional framework for sustainable development, with the conviction that our growth should be rooted in the responsible stewardship of our natural endowment.
On the legislative front, Gabon has adopted a Forestry Law in 2001, to make sustainable management plans obligatory for all forestry concessions.
In addition, we have gazetted 21% of our territory as protected areas.
As a result, Gabon’s forest cover has remained stable at 88%,and our deforestation rate is less than 0.1%.
Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation between 2001 and 2010 were 450 million tons less than in the 1990-2000 reference period. It is a minimal indication of the value that our efforts represent for the global environment.
More recently, Gabon has created the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and an inter-Ministerial Climate Council, that is chaired personally by the President, in order to strengthen coherence in our policies and to improve our governance structure.
Gabon completed a Climate Plan in the run up to COP 17 in Durban, and is currently working on a consolidated national land use plan to be anchored on a new law.
A new Code for Sustainable Development, which will translate Gabon's ambitions and policies into action, is currently under discussion in Parliament.
In addition, it will integrate natural capital into our national accounting system, in line with the recent declaration of the Gaborone Summit on Sustainable Development.
Source :COCOM - Gabon
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