Consequences of stopping log exports to Gabon

Gabon is an essentially forested country. Approximately 85% of its surface area is covered by forests, i.e. nearly 22 million hectares. In relation to its population, the country ranks first among African forest producers with its ratio of forest area per capita (22 ha), one of the highest in Africa. In order to compensate for the declining oil revenues due to the progressive depletion of geological reserves, the government has embarked on the process of creating a real wood industry within the country in order to avoid the waste of wood cut and transported in its raw state to external processing countries, exports that create little added value compared to those of processed wood. It is with this in mind that the measure on the suppression of log exports was implemented in 2010. The main objective of this study was therefore to determine the possible adverse effects of this measure and to highlight the risks to the forestry sector and the Gabonese economy of the immediate application of this measure.