Indigenous World 2023: Gabon

Written on 24 March 2023. Posted in Gabon

There seem to be particular difficulties in conducting a census of Gabon’s population and figures therefore vary depending on the source. The latest figures from the 2010 Census give a total of 1,480,000 inhabitants, more than 600,000 of whom live in the capital and its surrounding area.

The average population density is 4.6 inhabitants/km² for a land area of 257,667 km². If we take into account the population density in the capital (1,800 inhabitants/km²), however, the rest of the country remains inhabited at only a density of around one inhabitant/km².

The population comprises some 50 ethnic groups with different cultures and languages, the main ones being the Fang (32%), Mpongwè (15%), Mbédé (14%), Punu (12%), Baréké or Batéké, Bakota and Obamba.

Throughout Gabon, there are also hunter/gatherer communities (often called Pygmies) comprising nine ethnic groups (Baka, Babongo, Bakoya, Baghame, Barimba, Akoula, Akowa, Bavarama, Bakouyi) with different languages, cultures and geographical locations. The Pygmy communities live both in the towns and in the forest. Their livelihoods and their cultures are inextricably linked to the forest, which covers 85% of Gabon. According to official data stated during a conference in Libreville on 27 April 2017, there are now some 16,162 Pygmies living across the national territory. The Baka live in Woleu-Ntem, particularly in the seven villages of Minvoul, and they number between 373 and 683 individuals. Other Baka have also been noted in Makokou, and upstream of Ivindo. They number some 866 individuals.

There are also Bakoya living in Ivindo, in Djouah (north) and Loué (east) districts of Zadié department (Mékambo). They number some 1,618 individuals across Ogooué-Ivindo. The greatest concentration of Pygmies is found among the Babongo of Lopé (Ogooué-Lolo), estimated at 708 individuals, but also the Bakouyi (Mulundu) and Babongo of Koulamoutou, Pana and lboundji, numbering some 2,325. To these statistics must be added the Babongo or Akoula of Haut-Ogooué (4,075 individuals) and those in Ngounié and Nyanga, 4,442 individuals. To complete this geographical tour of Gabon’s ethnolinguistic Pygmy communities, there are the Bavarama and Barimba in Nyanga (2,263 persons) and the Akowa (Port-Gentil, Omboue and Gamba) who account for around 327 individuals.

In 2005, Gabon agreed that its Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (PDPA) should form part of the World Bank loan agreement for the Forest and Environment Sector Project. This was the Gabonese government’s first official recognition of the existence of Indigenous Peoples and of its responsibilities towards them. In 2007, Gabon voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This article is part of the 37^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.

National parks and protected areas

The Pygmies of Gabon have been driven from their ancestral lands. The forests they used to inhabit were established as national parks and protected areas by the Gabonese state in 2002 without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and without compensation. There are currently 13 national parks in Gabon covering some 11.5% or 30,000 km² of the Gabonese territory. These parks are managed by the National Parks Agency under the technical supervision of the Minister with responsibility for National Parks. The parks aim to preserve key ecosystems, diversify the country's economy through the development of ecotourism, and enhance the value of Gabon's forests.^[1]

The Association for the Development of the Culture of Gabon’s Pygmy Peoples (ADCPPG) is a non-profit association established in 2003 to conduct advocacy activities for Indigenous Peoples in Gabon, including defending their rights to land. Its main objectives are the following:

• To raise awareness among Pygmy populations and provide them with conservation training for their participation
• To contribute aid to the fight against poverty
• To encourage participation in development
• To promote the culture of the Pygmy peoples
• To encourage young people to participate in the challenges of the future

In April 2022, the ADCPPG participated in a dialogue in Libreville, Gabon, on managing the Moyabi forest landscape in Haut-Ogooué province. The dialogue was linked to the start-up of the “Global Environment Fund (GEF) 7 project: Transforming the governance of forest landscapes in the landscape corridor between Bas Ogooué and Bas Nyanga”. The project aims to support Gabon's efforts to sustainably manage forest landscapes and ecosystems. It is focused on conserving high-value forest landscapes while improving livelihoods for local communities through better – i.e. more inclusive – governance that is consistent with biodiversity conservation and enhancement objectives, integrated land-use planning, and which includes private sector engagement.^[2]

The ADCPPG is also working to acquire a 2,075 ha community forest for the Pygmy people that can act as a model for the sustainable management of Gabonese forest ecosystems. It is located in the village of Kanda-piè in the department of Ogoulou-Mimongo, Ngounié province.

Gabon also forms part of the sub-regional “Partnership for People, Nature and Climate” project launched in 2022. This project aims to enhance Indigenous Peoples’ land rights and local conservation in order to achieve global conservation, climate and development goals in the Congo Basin. This initiative supports the participation and knowledge of Indigenous Pygmies in biodiversity conservation and aims to secure their land rights. The project is being funded from 2022-2025 by the Bezos Earth Fund (BEF), in partnership with the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and the Indigenous Peoples' Network for the Sustainable Management of the Congo Basin Forests (Repaleac).

Africa Climate Week (ACW) 2022 took place from 29 August to 2 September in Gabon. ACW 2022 engaged and empowered more than 2,300 stakeholders to drive climate action across countries, communities and economies. An ACW 2022 Output Report provides a record of engagement that will be able to guide the implementation of the Paris Agreement in Africa.^[3] ACW 2022 was hosted by the Government of Gabon and organized by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Denis Massande is a Babongo Pygmy from the village of Kanda-Piè, department of Ogoulou-Mimongo, south Ngounié, and President of the Association for the Development of the Culture of the Pygmy Peoples of Gabon (ADCPPG).

This article is part of the 37^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. Find The Indigenous World 2023 in full here. 

Notes and references

^[1] Fondation BGFIBank. “Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux.” https://www.fondation-bgfibank.com/agence-nationale-des-parcs-nationaux/

^[2] ”Projet GEF-7: transformer la gouvernance du paysage forestier.” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 16 December 2022, https://www.undp.org/fr/gabon/communiques/projet-gef-7-transfomer-la-gouvernance-du-paysage-forestier

^[3] ”Africa Climate Week 2022. Output Report.” 10 October 2022, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/ACW2022_OutputReport_10102022.pdf