Gabon Forest. Screenshot from ‘Survivre une semaine dans la forêt tropicale gabonaise‘ on the National Geographic France YouTube channel. Fair use. Gabon stands out from other countries in Africa and the world over in terms of its preservation and conservation of natural forests. But will the country's economy be able to maintain this moving forward? The Gabonese Republic is in a unique position in the world in terms of its environmental conservation and fight against climate change. Around 88 percent of its land is forested, thus making this Central African country the world's second largest carbon sink after the Amazon. The country's current position, where most of its land is forested, comes from an initiative carefully conducted by Omar Bongo Ondimba (1935–2009 ), the country's former president and father of its current president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been in power since October 2009. At that time, Omar Bongo Ondimba undertook to make Gabon a pioneer in environmental protection. Gabon's commitment to combatting climate change and environmental protection goes back to its participation in the first United Nations Earth Summit in Stockholm in June 1972. Since then, various programs and projects have been launched to uphold this national commitment. Law No.16 of August 26, 1993, on the protection and improvement of the environment, enshrines this commitment to environmental protection and leaves its violators subject to penalties. In 2007, another law was passed on the creation of national parks, thus allocating 11 percent of the country's land to these parks. Following the death of the former president in 2009, Gabonese officials embarked on a similar path, which brought Gabon to the attention of major global investors and polluters alike. Ali Bongo has undertaken to unite the continent's other countries on climate matters. Since 2010, he has thereby been keen to get his country involved in several conferences on climate change and the environment. The country's excellent environmental policy also gave it the opportunity to co-host the first ‘One Forest Summit‘ with France in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, in March 2023. Gabon's multimedia news magazine, Reflets Gabon, reported on this summit on X (formerly known as Twitter): [Reportage]- Co-organisé du 01 au 02 mars dernier par le Gabon et la France, le One Forest Summit a été l’occasion pour le Gabon d'évaluer les conséquences de l’industrialisation du secteur bois. Texte : Warren OKOLO Voix : Annie-paule EYUI ELLA Montage : Tanguy NZE#Gabon pic.twitter.com/ES71VxgDRe — Reflets Gabon (@RefletsGabon) March 8, 2023 [Report]- Co-hosted by Gabon and France from March 1 to 2, 2023, the One Forest Summit provided an opportunity for Gabon to assess the impact of the industrialization of the timber sector. Text: Warren OKOLO Voiceover: Annie-paule EYUI ELLA Editing: Tanguy NZE#Gabon pic.twitter.com/ES71VxgDRe — Reflets Gabon (@RefletsGabon) March 8, 2023 However, this international conference didn't go down well with all civil society actors. Environmentalist and founder of the Brainforest NGO, Marc Ona Essangui, criticized this on TV5Monde as being just another summit of little use. For him, its recommendations were likely to be shelved once the conference was over: Alors qu'Emmanuel Macron entame sa visite en Afrique centrale, le président français va participer au #Gabon au “One Forest Summit”, consacré à la sauvegarde de la forêt tropicale. Que faut-il en attendre ? Réponse du fondateur de l'ONG “Brainforest”, Marc Ona Essangui. pic.twitter.com/8bjC9Ouro7 — TV5MONDE Info (@TV5MONDEINFO) March 1, 2023 As French President Emmanuel Macron begins his visit to Central Africa, he will participate in the “One Forest Summit” in #Gabon on the conservation of tropical forests. What can we expect? Response from Marc Ona Essangui, founder of the “Brainforest” NGO. pic.twitter.com/8bjC9Ouro7 It should also be noted that Gabon's forest development respects the property rights and living conditions of the Indigenous peoples living in these forests. Gabon's forests are often home to various tribes and peoples, including the Baka nation, among others.However, climate considerations could pose a serious threat to these groups. In fact, the increased controls and restrictions imposed by the eco-guards present in these forests could unsettle the lives of Indigenous peoples who live solely on natural forest resources and products. Gabon is now at a critical juncture in its policy on forest conservation. In fact, the country has begun receiving payments to conserve its forests. In 2021, it received USD 17 million from the UN-backed Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI).