Gabon Leading Nature Conservation ... "Oil Will Eventually Run Out"

Africa Gabon Turning to Forest Resource Utilization
Strict Protection Regulations Implemented to Preserve Tropical Rainforests
Contrasting Late Response by Europe and New Delhi India

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Kyung-mi] Gabon, known for its abundant tropical rainforests, has embarked on forest resource development.

According to The New York Times on the 3rd (local time), Gabon, a large oil-producing country in Africa, is actively implementing policies in preparation for oil depletion.

Gabon, which is making forests the foundation of its future economy, is working to create large-scale tropical rainforests with big trees. Gabon has banned timber exports and instead established industrial complexes that provide tax benefits, maintaining furniture companies and plywood manufacturers that create jobs for factory workers.

Moreover, to prevent illegal logging, Gabon has developed a program that tracks timber using barcodes and enforces logging restrictions allowing only two trees to be cut per hectare of tropical rainforest every 25 years.

Neighboring countries have expressed intentions to follow Gabon's forest resource development policies and prepare countermeasures, leading to a positive evaluation of Gabon's environmental policies.

Some countries sharing the Congo Basin tropical rainforest have decided to ban raw timber exports starting next year, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to establish industrial complexes to create jobs in the timber industry.

Gabon, which has forests covering most of its territory and a steadily growing population (currently about 2 million), began its environmental policies under former President Omar Bongo. He started efforts to protect nature in 2002 by designating 10% of the country as 13 national parks.

Gabon’s consistent and large-scale calls for 'forest protection' stand in contrast to Europe and New Delhi, India, where environmental issues are severe.

Europe’s temperature has risen more than twice as fast as the global average over the past 30 years. Amid intensified 'climate protests' resisting the revival of fossil fuels due to the energy crisis, attention is focused on whether world leaders will attend the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), opening on the 6th.

According to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Europe’s temperature increased by an average of 0.5 degrees every decade from 1991 to 2021. As a result, the ice thickness in the Alps has decreased by 30 meters, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet has caused sea levels to rise.

Air pollution in New Delhi, the capital of India, which suffers from the worst air quality every winter, is also a serious problem. Authorities have taken emergency measures such as banning trucks from entering the city. Most trucks in India run on diesel fuel and are very old, making them one of the causes of air pollution.

The Capital Region Air Quality Management Committee (CAOM) instructed government authorities on the night of the 3rd (local time) to ban trucks from entering New Delhi. Accordingly, general trucks that transport essential goods or do not run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or electricity will be restricted from entering New Delhi.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.