Land Rights in Gabon

This report by land tenure specialist Liz Alden Wily documents the tenure situation in Gabon to inform, among others, ongoing discussions concerning FLEGT and REDD in the country. It starts by taking a historic look at Gabon. In 1899 virtually the entire country of Gabon was allocated to French logging companies. Before this, they had  nearly  two  centuries  of  one  of the most highly developed African trading regimes of the time, in which local clans serviced international  slave  and commodity trading.  Since then, the people of Gabon have endured dispossession of their lands and resources, both in law and in practice.

While some customary  use of  land is  upheld,  no  family  or  community  can  secure ownership  of  its  traditional forests,  arguably  its  most  precious  livelihood  and capital asset. Colonial and post-colonial administrations have continued to hand over rights and resources to big business rather than invest in local initiatives. Rights-based reforms in land tenure and governance in Africa since the 1990s have simply passed Gabon by. The report details possible steps to remedy past injustices and move forward to respect communities’ rights to land in line with other countries in the region.