Gabon: Congo Basin

The region that is now Gabon was inhabited in Paleolithic times. By the 16th cent. A.D. the Omiéné were living along the coast, and in the 18th cent. the Fang entered the region from the north. From the 16th to the 18th cent. the area was part of the decentralized Loango empire, which included most of the area between the Ogooué and Congo rivers. In the 1470s, Portuguese navigators found the Ogooué estuary, and shortly thereafter they began to trade with coastal merchants for slaves who had been acquired in the interior. The Portuguese were followed by Dutch, English, and French traders, and by the late 18th cent. the French had gained a dominant position. Despite the abolition of the slave trade (1815) by the Congress of Vienna, slaves continued to be exported from the Gabon coast until the 1880s, although French naval patrols succeeded in reducing the number exported annually.

Source:

bartleby.com

The overall population of Gabon is around one million people, two-thirds of whom live below the poverty line. The forests are home to various groups of ‘Pygmy’ people, including the Baka (in the north on the border with Cameroon), the Babongo (in the south on the border with Congo) and the Bakoya (in the east).

Source:

rainforestfoundationuk.org

Gabon has followed a nonaligned policy, advocating dialogue in international affairs and recognizing both parts of divided countries. Since 1973, the number of countries establishing diplomatic relations with Gabon has doubled. In inter-African affairs, Gabon espouses development by evolution rather than revolution and favors regulated free enterprise as the system most likely to promote rapid economic growth. Concerned about stability in Central Africa and the potential for intervention, Gabon has been directly involved with mediation efforts in Chad, the Central African Republic, Angola, Congo/Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi. In December 1999, through the mediation efforts of President Bongo, a peace accord was signed in Congo/Brazzaville between the government and most leaders of an armed rebellion. President Bongo has remained involved in the continuing Congolese peace process, and has ... played a role in mediating the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire.

Source:

state.gov

Gabon took an historic step in August 2002, setting aside 11% of the land as an 8 million acre network of 13 national parks. Immediately following this declaration, the United States government committed significant financial resources to Gabon through its Congo Basin Forest Partnership, an initiative that promotes conservation and responsible management of the Basin's tropical forests. A portion of the CBFP funds supports Gabon's new national park system, with MBG as an active partner. MBG has been particularly active in the Plateaux Batéké National Park, recently completing a botanical inventory together with botanists from the Herbier National du Gabon (LBV).

Source:

wlbcenter.org

A belt of coastal lowlands, generally narrow in width, is found in the western part of Gabon. To the interior is the plateau zone, which extends over the entire northern and eastern sections of Gabon and part of the south. The Cristal Mountains in the north are about 900 m (about 3,000 ft) high. The central Chaillu Mountains contain Mount Iboundji (972 m/3,189 ft), the highest summit in the country. This escarpment is crossed by numerous rivers, notably the Ogooué River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Virtually the entire country is contained in the basin of the Ogooué River, which is navigable to Ndjolé.

Source:

encarta.msn.com