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Discovering Gabon
The Republic of Gabon is located on the Atlantic coast of central Africa along the Equator. It shares borders with Equatorial Guinea (350 km), Cameroon (298 km) and the Congo Republic (1,903 km). The country covers a total land area of 267,668 sq km and the capital and largest city is Libreville. Other major Gabonese cities are Gamba, Kango and Lucina.
The earliest settlers of Gabon are believed to be have been the Babinga, (Pygmies) dating back to 7000 B.C. who was later followed by several Bantu groups from southern and eastern Africa. Presently, this attributes to many tribal groups in the country, the largest being the Fang peoples constituting about 25% of the entire population.
Gabon was firstly explored by Diego Cam, a Portuguese explorer in the early 1400’s. In 1472, more Portuguese explorers discovered the opening of the Como River naming it “Rio de Gabao,” river of Gabon, which later translated into the name of the country.
Portuguese were joined by Dutch travellers who began settling in 1594 and later the French in 1630. Gabon became a French territory in 1888, an autonomous republic within the French Union after World War II, and an independent republic on Aug. 17, 1960. Today more than 10,000 French people live in Gabon, and France is the predominant foreign cultural and commercial influence.
Gabon is a republic state with a democratically elected president. Former President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba is the country’s longest-serving leader. He took over power in 1967 and died in June 2009 still serving. Current President is Ali Ben Bongo who got into power on September 3, 2009, after the death of his father. The country’s President shields extreme powers, for instance, the power to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, conduct referendums, and appoint or dismiss the prime minister as well as cabinet members. The country enacted a new constitution in March 1991.
Gabon has a population of about 1.45 million (1,442,334 exact). This is the continent’s fifth least densely populated country – 85 per cent of the country’s land is covered in tropical forests.
Most Gabonese are of Bantu origin with a multitude of over forty ethnic groups and cultures. The Fang is widely considered to be the biggest, with the Bandjabi (Nzebi) following. Others ethnic groups include the Bakota, Bapounou, Eshira, Myene and Okande. Nationally, 32% of the Gabonese people speak the Fang language as the original mother language. French is the official language used in Government business dealings, education and communication.
Christianity accounts for over 70% of the Gabonese people. Roman Catholic Church has the biggest number of followers. Other religious groups include animists, Muslims, and practitioners of indigenous African religions.
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Gabon experiences an equatorial climate characterized with warm and tropical spells in the year. It has a wet season between September and May punctuated by a short dry spell from December to January. Gabon’s dry period runs from May and September. The general temperature is 25°C on average, with about 80% humidity so it feels much hotter.
The country also experiences a Whale season which runs from July to September and turtles come ashore to lay eggs from November to January. Mammals wander from forest to savannah depending on the temperatures – these weather changes influence seasonal wildlife migrations in the country a lot. For the adventurous, Whale season is the best time to travel to Gabon.
Gabon’s climatic conditions are influenced by the extensive system of rainforests covering 85% of the country.
There are three distinct geographical zones, namely the COASTAL PLAINS (ranging between 20 to 300 km from the ocean’s shore), the MOUNTAINS (the Crystal Mountains to the northeast of Libreville, the Chaillu Massif in the centre, culminating at 1575 m with Mount Iboundji), and the savanna in the east. The coastal plains culminate in a large section of the World Wildlife Fund’s Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests eco-region with several patches of Central African mangroves especially on the Muni River estuary on the border with neighbouring Equatorial Guinea.
The largest river is the Ogooué (1,200 km long). Gabon has three KARST AREAS where there are hundreds of caves located in the dolomite and limestone rocks. Some of the caves include Grotte du Lastoursville, Grotte du Lebamba, Grotte du Bongolo and Grotte du Kessipougou. Many caves have not been explored yet. They act as great tourist attractions for the country. Gabon is also noted for efforts to preserve the natural environment.
A large proportion of the population of Gabonese is poor. The country enjoys a per capita punctuated with high-income inequalities. The major natural resources of Gabon are petroleum, magnesium, iron, gold, uranium and forests. Presently the oil sector accounts for 50% of GDP. The rebound of oil prices since 1999 have helped growth, but drops in production have hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains, and will continue to temper the gains for most of this decade. Gabon encounters persistent unpredictable oil prices, timber and manganese exports. Which in most cases has kept the economy unstable?
Tourism Potential
Gabon has plenty of tourist attractions. Whether this is your first time to Gabon or not, there is no shortage of things to do and see in the country. It is a charming and energetic country with lots to offer visitors, including the ancient Gabonese historical monuments, the renaissance beauty and fashion metropolis cities, the Ogooué River, several National Parks such as Loango National Park –wild animals are abundant plus reptiles including 20,000 western lowland gorillas and 60,000 forest elephants – the largest population in Africa – and 700 types of exotic birds. You would not want to miss seeing the amazing savannahs, mangroves, lagoons and beaches that are ideal habitats for varied species of animals and plants.
