World Weather, Climate, and Society Projects |
Libreville, Gabon Ryan Graumann, Brittainy Heitzman, Anne Wachtel Country Overview
Climate When we began recording in September, the May to September dry season had just ended. However, in a few weeks, come mid-December, they should get a short reprieve from their generally rainy and stormy weather, with the coming of the brief December dry season. As the charts below demonstrate, during the time we recorded the weather, the climate was very characteristic of the rainy season, with the country experiencing predominately rainy, overcast, and stormy weather throughout the duration of our study.
Environment Gabon ’s energy consumption accounts for a mere 0.1% of the world’s total energy consumption, and makes up only.01% of the world’s total carbon dioxide emission, with a total of 4.78 million metric tons emitted. Gabon ’s per capital carbon dioxide emissions total 3.65 metric tons as compared to the U.S. per capita value of 5.5 metric tons. However, 99% of all carbon dioxide emissions within the country come from oil, which currently factors heavily into the country’s economy. Gabon and Climate Change Issues Furthermore, although the country itself contributes only a small amount of carbon dioxide emissions, their main area of economic interest and chief export is crude oil. The oil exported by Gabon then goes to countries like the United States and parts of Europe, where it is used and thus contributes to global carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere. However, if the global community were to turn away from crude oil and fossil fuels as a means energy, and toward more environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources, Gabon ’s economy would be devastated. As is mentioned in the section on economy, Gabon is currently trying to diversify their economy to avoid this type of disaster by furthering other sorts of industry like the timber trade. Even their back-up economic plan has serious implications for global warming, as deforestation from timber harvesting exposes more of Earth’s black soil to the sun’s radiation, and reduces the number of trees in the biosphere able to absorb excess carbon dioxide and keep it from entering the upper atmosphere and contributing to global warming. Gabon, in spite of its increasing environmental activity, is still in an awkward position when it comes to dealing with issues of global warming, and taking steps to reduce global carbon dioxide emission in favor of a healthier global environment. However, if no action is taken, Gabon stands to be greatly effected by the physical feedbacks of climate change like a rise in sea level, and the country may find itself ill-prepared and unequipped to handle such drastic and imminent changes. Society Overview. As Gabon is just entering its fourth decade as an independent nation, it is a society in transition. Even today the size of Gabon ’s population is uncertain and its estimates range from 900,000 to 1,300,000. Gabon is composed of multiple ethnic groups that often clash. Its largest group, the Fang, originated from Cameroon and represents one-third of Gabon ’s people. The Gabonese Fang have a strong political power that creates a tension with the current administration led by President Bongo. In addition to the Fang, there are 50 Gabonese ethnic groups that speak a total of 8 different language types: Myéné, Kota, Duma, Tshogho, Mbété, Punu-Eshira, and Téké. While most Gabonese inhabitants speak one or more of these Bantu languages, only 1/3 of Gabonese speak French and only ¼ can read the language. This creates a tension between those in power and those without; for all media, political activities, and public areas conduct themselves in French. French Influence. European colonialism has greatly influenced and changed the society of Gabon. For example, Gabon ’s boundaries, determined by the peace treaty of WWI, were drawn without consideration of traditional socioeconomic patterns – as a result, different groups crossed passed and an awareness grew about the importance of common identities within different regions. In particular, the inhabitants of Libreville, cut off from interior Gabonese and exposed to many foreign residents, grew to consider themselves alone as Gabonese. Another example of how European invasion changed Gabonese society involves traditional village life. Before the arrival of the Europeans, Gabon consisted of many villages and did not have a political/economic capital. After colonization however, Gabon ’s economy changed from subsistence agriculture/barter to currency based. Consequently, the traditional villages typically lost their most energetic residents as the young moved to the cities and peasant farmers became wage laborers. In addition, village education changed as the indigenous institutions were taken over by French missionaries. As a consequence to this evolving environment, James Barnes describes Gabon ’s national identity as recent and fragile, with conflict today between ethnic and religious identities. Health. A pressing and important aspect of Gabonese society is its heath, as the country’s people have been victims to several health epidemics. Although Gabon is of relatively high economic status (78 th in the world), its ranking on the measure of “human development” is much lower (114 as rated by UNICEF) (Reed, 269). As Gabon ’s government has an extensive Ministry of Health and has a substantial assortment of health infrastructures and technical means, it is surprising to see that the government has yet to implement effective health care measures. Consequently, the system is lacking in specialists and has not adequately taken care of the threat of serious communicable diseases. First, the spread of malaria has not been contained, and accounts for 10% of deaths in the hospitals of Gabon today. Secondly, while AIDS has not been as big of a problem in Gabon as it has in neighboring African countries, the epidemic has grown much worse in the last 5 years because it did not receive enough attention from the government to act against its transmission. One such way the government took a back seat to this issue was that an AIDS awareness ad campaign did not begin until 1997. However, recently several associations have been established to promote awareness about HIV/AIDS and to provide support to those infected. Finally, in addition to being burdened by malaria and AIDS, Gabon ’s people have also been victim to the Ebola virus which has shown itself in three separate epidemics over the last ten years. The first, occurring in 1994, involved 44 cases in the village of Mékouka. The second case happened in the small village of Mayibout and took 37 cases, while the third and final epidemic took 60 cases in Booué in 1996. As Ebola is extremely contagious and spread through any kind of bodily fluid, these outbreaks in rural villages often became so deadly because of the rural village approach to medicine. Often family traditions run very strong in Gabonese villages, and consequently, if a person becomes ill, it is the duty of his or her family members to take care of him/her. Therefore, the inclination to go to the hospital if one becomes ill is not an automatic reaction. However, if a person did become gravely ill, a family member would often continue to stay with him or her because usually in the Gabonese hospitals there are not enough staff to feed/clean the patients. Also, the sick patient may not speak French, and as we have already seen, French is the professional language in Gabon. Thus one can understand how Ebola may have spread so quickly in rural areas of Gabon. Conclusion. In this section, we have identified the Gabonese as a people speaking many languages and having numerous ethnic affiliations while still being influenced by the colonization of the past. Although French colonization changed some area boundaries and caused a shift of movement from rural villages to the cities, many Gabonese have held onto their own culture as they guard their language within their communities and families. While ethnic and religious conflict still exist, the nation has had to come together in response to the recent health epidemics that have been ravaging Africa. Although at first slow to respond, the government has taken recent and strong measure to fight against malaria, AIDS, and the Ebola virus. While traditional medicinal practices are used and are helpful to many Gabonese, some western medical practices have been implemented to care for the very contagious diseases. Consequently, the country’s state of health may soon turn around as awareness increases about these communicable diseases. Economy Forestry was the main industry in Gabon up until the 1960s when mineral exploitation began. Okoume, or Gabon mahogany, was Gabon ’s main timber export, with other hardwoods including ebony and kevazingo also of great importance. Gabon also has large reserves of manganese, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, and uranium. Fairly large oil reserves were discovered offshore in the 1970s, and since then oil has been by far the dominant driving factor in the Gabonese economy. Seventy-five percent of exports are in the form of crude oil and oil makes up fifty percent of Gabon ’s GDP. Gabon is sub-Saharan Africa ’s fourth largest producer and exporter of crude oil and is extremely dependent on its export. Recent declines in oil supply have raised concerns as to the longevity of Gabon ’s oil supply. One projection predicts production at the current rate will deplete all oil reserves by 2012. Because of fluctuating oil prices on the world market and diminishing reserves, oil’s future in Gabon does not look promising. If an attempt was made to restrict fossil fuel burning worldwide to combat anthropogenic climate change, Gabon ’s economy could suffer greatly. Gabon ’s economy has more ties to European and American markets than many African nations. Like many former colonies, Gabon ’s economy still has strong connections to its former occupier, a great amount of foreign investment and control, dependence on foreign technologies, and declining agricultural output. Because of its small population, (approximately 1.35 million) Gabon relies on thousands of workers from other African countries in areas of retail, transportation, and artisanship. Today Gabon ’s main exports are crude oil, forest products, manganese and uranium ore, and cocoa. Gabon relies heavily on the import of food, chemical and petroleum products, construction materials, and machinery from France, the United States, Japan, and Côte d'Ivoire. Gabon has easy access to international shipping lanes because of its prime location on the coast and generally fair weather. Internally Gabon ’s transportation network is limited; however, the Trans-Gabon railway was completed in 1986 connecting the deepwater port of Owendo with iron ore and manganese deposits.
Timber and mining still are important sectors in the economy. Manufacturing only makes up six percent of Gabon ’s GNP, although recently it has been expanding. The chief goods that come out of Gabon ’s industrial sector are refined petroleum, food and beverages, timber and plywood, cement, and textiles. Most Gabonese, however, work in the subsistence farming of cassava, plantains, taro, and sugarcane. Although Gabon does face numerous problems and difficulties economically, it still enjoys a per capita income that is four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations. Gabon ’s economy is robust compared to many African countries, largely thanks to the export of crude oil. Since the discovery of oil there has been a sharp decline in poverty, yet a large portion of the population remains poor because of great income inequality and class polarization. Despite a GDP per capita that is very high for its region of the world, most social indicators are barely higher than the sub-Saharan averages. Nearly half of the population still lives below the poverty line. Gabon also has a current unemployment rate of 21 percent. Despite abundant natural resources, poor fiscal management and economic policy has prevented Gabon from fully benefiting economically. In 1994, devaluation of its currency by fifty percent resulted in a huge surge in inflation. Immediately following this, the International Monetary Fund stepped in to loan money and help reestablish credit. Agreements with the IMF call for progress towards privatization and fiscal discipline. The IMF has criticized Gabon for overspending on “off-budget items,” over borrowing from the central bank, and not meeting targets on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. Some would argue organizations like the IMF and the World Bank practice a form of neo-colonialism by essentially dictating how a government should operate, while that country takes out more and more loans and plunges further into debt. While the World Bank has been active in the past, it currently has no projects in Gabon. There are future plans to support government effort towards diversification of the economy and poverty reduction. According to the World Bank, since 1995, real GDP has grown 1.3 percent on average per year. It was 2.1 percent in 2003 and projected to be 3 percent in 2004. Inflation has decreased from 9.8 percent in 1995 to 2.1 percent in 2003. Gabon ’s short term economic progress depends on oil prices and the state of the world economy. As these figures illustrate, recent economic trends have been very promising. Gabon continues to be regarded as a stable country in an otherwise largely unstable Africa; Gabon also has an increasing role in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). There have been recent attempts to diversity the economy by encouraging economic development outside of the oil sector. Diversification is necessary for a more stable economy and a bright economic future. A note about Tourism Although the country is teeming with interesting wildlife and beautiful virgin rainforests, tourism is not extremely popular in Gabon as visitor’s visas are notoriously difficult and costly to come but. However, if you do manage to finagle one, your best bet being to get one at a Gabonese embassy in a neighboring country, the best time of year to visit Gabon is during the dry season from May to September, as much of the rest of the year, as we have seen, is humid, rainy, and hot. For those who do manage to obtain a visa the major cities like Libreville provide a more metropolitan travel experience, while a small number of eco-tourism lodges have started to spring up in the more densely forested areas to cater to a more naturalistic tourist crowd. Either way, if you can manage to come by a visa during the dry seasons, Gabon is a truly singular travel experience.
Works Consulted “Environment.” Lonely Planet. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/gabon/environemnt.htm>. 15 November 2004. “Facts for the Travler.” Lonely Planet. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/gabon/facts.htm>. 15 November 2004. “ Gabon Country Analysis.” 4 November 2004. The Energy Information Administration. 15 November 2004. <http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/gabon.html>. Barnes, James. Gabon: Beyond the Colonial Legacy. Westview Press, 1992. San Francisco, CA. Barnes, J. & Reed, Michael. Culture, Ecology, and Politics in Gabon ’s Rainforest. The Edwin Mellen Press, 2003. Lewiston, ME. “ Gabon: History.” Encyclopedia.com. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/Gabon_History.asp>. 25 October 2004. “ Gabon: Economy.” Encyclopedia.com. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/Gabon_Economy.asp>. 25 October 2004. “ Gabon.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. <http://www.search.eb.com.prxy5.ursus.maine.edu/ebi/article?tocId=9274469>. 10 Dec. 2004 “CIA World Factbook.” Gabon. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gb.html>. 25 October 2004. “ Gabon Country Brief.” The World Bank Group. link. 25 October 2004. |
Colby College | Science Technology & Society Department website design by Gerrit Lansing |
Comprising an area about the size of Colorado and straddling the Equator on the Western coast of Africa lies the country of Gabon. Formerly a French colony, and still officially called the Republique Gabonaise, Gabon is located on the edge of the Congo Basin.
Gabon has the richest variety of species of both plants and animals found in any tropical forest complex in Africa. The country consists of a narrow coastal plain and a hilly interior, with savannah in both the east and south. Since its independence in 1960, Gabon has remained stable and peaceful, and has often proven instrumental in negotiating peace in conflicts between neighboring countries. Currently, Gabon is undergoing various changes aimed at modernizing and securing the country’s future. For instance, economically, the country is attempting to diversify its interests, and environmentally, the Gabonese government is beginning to engage in discussion and action an increasingly global level, while taking measures to protect the environment within their borders. However, despite these many efforts, much of Gabonese society still harkens back to the times of French colonization. Today, Gabon ’s population is growing at the same rate as the average for Sub-Saharan Africa of 2.5%, but what kind of future will these new Gabonese citizens encounter, and how will weather, climate, and society combine to create and shape that future? 
