Gabon’s Blue Horizon: consultations underway for national marine zone plan

The Gabonese government has initiated public consultations on its proposed national marine zone plan, with teams from the Ministry of Economic Blue Economy crisscrossing several localities to present the vision of the country’s highest authorities for sustainable management of marine resources.

These consultations also aim to present the current state of protected marine areas, such as in Port-Gentil, where stakeholders in the artisanal fishing sector were expected to share their views on the project of zoning the local plan of ‘Obligations Bleues’, which makes Gabon a global model for innovative financing of our marine ecosystems.

The ultimate goal is to achieve a coordinated delimitation of protected marine areas, with the final zonation plan being submitted for validation by decision-making bodies.

This project represents a technical exercise embodying the Gabonese commitment to balancing preservation and development. It aims to protect critical habitats (such as mangroves), while ensuring access to resources for traditional fishermen, women engaged in seaweed harvesting, and other stakeholders in the transformation of marine products, in the interests of current and future generations.

Experts from the aforementioned department have until July 19th to identify traditional fishing zones, migratory corridors, or climate resilience spaces in the provinces of Estuaire, Nyanga, and Ogooué-Maritime.