Gabon: protecting vital forests, and communities

The west African nation is working to balance competing demands of retaining biodiversity and mitigating climate change with the immediate needs of its people

Anne-Marie Ndong Obiang has a machete attached to her belt, which she assures us is "for cutting off poachers' fingers". In her spotless forest-green camouflage uniform she does not appear to be joking. Working for Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN) she has firsthand experience of the harsh conditions in the big reserves in the north of the country, some almost impenetrable. Gold prospectors, often from neighbouring Cameroon, have been known to leave craters 40 metres deep in the middle of the woods.

Obiang is head of the Raponda Walker Arboretum close to the capital Libreville, which is on the Atlantic coast. Her priority here is to combat uncontrolled urban sprawl. "My fellow eco-wardens and myself can't look the other way for a moment without someone starting to build beside the track," she says. True enough quite substantial houses are springing up, with no planning permission, jeopardising the exceptional forest ecosystem that is bordered by a few sandy creeks - miraculously spared so far. To the south, the city is spreading unchecked. "We have about 40 endemic plant species here and we're still identifying new ones, despite the airport being only 15 minutes away," she says. Her favourite natural landmark is an Aleppo pine, 57 metres tall, which she likes showing to visiting schoolchildren.