CHALLENGE

Since January 2010, Gabon has banned the export of wood in the form of logs, and supported a progressive industrialization of the timber industry in order to increase its contribution to a diversified economy. Implementing effective policies towards economic diversification and sustainable development will depend on having a thorough understanding of the impacts of past policies, as well as possibilities going forward.  

APPROACH

The objective of this activity is to assist the Gabonese Government in undertaking two components:

1. An assessment of the impact of the 2010 log exports ban on Gabon’s economy and forestry resources, based on industry production figures (logs and processed products). The impacts on the economy will be evaluated at several levels, including contribution to GDP; forestry sector employment; difficulties encountered by businesses; arrival of new players; deployed strategies; and long-run impacts on forest resources.
2. The identification of realistic targets, actions and requirements to increase the share of the timber industry in Gabon's economic growth. This component will be informed by a 2014 study carried out for the Gabonese ministry in charge of forests, which aimed to highlight for policymakers the question of balancing sustainably managed forests and the processing capacity of industry. The study’s results emphasized the importance of strong, interdepartmental ownership

Results from this activity could help inform future investment projects in the forestry sector.

RESULTS

The study on the impacts of the 2010 log export ban on the forest sector, the timber industry, and the Gabonese economy was presented to the government of Gabon in June 2016 at a workshop in Libreville. The final document was disseminated in November 2016.

The finalization of the Forest Code has been successful with the delivery of a consolidated and consensual document to the Ministry of Water and Forests. This result has been reached in three steps: (i) the strengthening of the Forest Code draft through the technical assistance of the consulting firm, leading to a better technical document; (ii) the organization of a 15-day workshop by the national working group, leading to the final draft; and (iii) the organization of a national validation workshop in August 2016. The final Forest Code has been submitted to the Gabonese government. The national instruction process consists of four steps: (i) submission to the government General Secretary (completed in October 2016), (ii) validation of the Forest Code by the Council of Ministers (early 2017) (iii) legal revision of the document by the Board of State (in 2017), and (iv) submission for consideration by Parliament (in 2017).

This activity is ongoing. Findings will be shared on this page when they become available.