loango-description
Country: Gabon
Type and IUCN Category: National park (IUCN category: II); RAPAC pilot site.
Size (hectares): 155,224
Date of creation: 30 August 2002
CARPE landscape: Gamba-Mayumba-Conkouati. Not covered by CARPE III.
Management plan: No comprehensive management plan is currently available for the park. A management document was drafted for the period 2009-2014, but it was never formally adopted.
Local communities: In 2003, the initial population within the park was estimated to be around 2,800 people, many of whom have since reportedly been displaced (Cernea & Schmidt-Soltau, 2003: 8). A 2016 government project document mentions four villages and seven camps still present inside the park, with a total of around 80 permanent inhabitants (ANPN, 2016: 18).
Administration: The park is administered by the Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN). Conservation activities are managed by technical advisors from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The conservation objectives include the preservation of ecosystems, the involvement of local communities in the management of the protected area, and the development of eco-tourism (PAPACO 2010: 110).
Biodiversity information : The Loango National Park shelters 80 species of mammals, including forest elephant, forest buffalo, antelopes, hippos, leopards as well as 16 species of primate (including gorilla and chimpanzee). The park is also home to 203 bird species. (IUCN/PAPACO 2011: 18-19).
Neighbouring and overlapping extractive industries ((Mapping for Rights):
Two logging concessions border the park:
- (1) concession 01-008, managed by Compagnie des Bois du Gabon since 2001; and
- (2) concession 01-014, managed by Compagnie des Bois du Gabon since 2008.
Three oil permits overlap with the park:
- (1) concession LT99;
- (2) concession Nziembou-Digheghi; and
- (3) concession RGA Bloc 11.
Information available on funding:
(Please note that some of these grants may be covering several protected areas or landscapes.)
Management of Wildlife and Human-Elephant Conflict (Gestion de la Faune et des conflits homme-elephants, GeFaCHE) (2016-2021)
Funders: Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
Objective: reduce elephant poaching, fight against illicit wildlife trade and increase the benefits of communities through better management of human-elephant conflict.
Grant manager: World Bank
Project area: Waka, Moukalaba-Doudou, Loango and Mayumba national parks.
Funds: No available information.
‘Strengthening Capacity For Managing National Parks And Biodiversity’ (2006-2013)
Funders: Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
Grant managers: WWF for the southern part of the Loango National Park, WCS for the northern part.
Objective: Build organisational and operational capacity of the authorities responsible for national park management in Gabon (GEF website).
Project area: Loango, Moukalaba-Doudou and Mayumba national parks and their buffer zones, as well as the buffer zones of Lopé and Batéké (Component 4 of the project)
Funds: GEF granted $10,000,000 to the overall project (GEF website). It is unclear how much was dedicated to Loango in total, though $260,000 was allocated to WWF over two years for operations in the southern part of the park (PAPACO, 2010).