All together now...

The World Wildlife Fund, a logging company and the donor community have joined forces to conserve the Minkébé reserve in Gabon. Established in 1998, it is renowned for its variety of habitats and for its elephants. The reserve covers 6,000 km2 and is part of the Minkébé forest (32,000 km2). It forms a cornerstone in a transborder conservation initiative spanning Gabon, Cameroon and Congo. Commercial hunting and logging are now forbidden in the reserve. However, the agreement s success will also depend on additional measures to be taken outside the actual reserve. Almost the entire surrounding area is currently, or soon will be, used for logging activities. The Malaysian logging company Bordamur has a 150,000 ha concession, and a bad record on sustainable forest management. Newly constructed roads have opened up the forest, which was virtually uninhabited. Illegal hunting camps have mushroomed, with the involvement of Bordamur labourers, and game has been traded at the entrance of the concession. Fined and put under pressure, Bordamur signed a contract early this year with WWF, the regional authorities and local communities. According to the contract, Bordamur will make an effort to keep out commercial hunters and traders. Neighbouring local communities have agreed to hunt only fifteen kilometres around their villages and WWF started to control the gate to Bordamur s concession. The measures have proven to be successful: animal numbers are rising again. The Bordamur employees are angry, though, at losing an important part of their income.The World Wildlife Fund, a logging company and the donor community have joined forces to conserve the Minkébé reserve in Gabon. Established in 1998, it is renowned for its variety of habitats and for its elephants. The reserve covers 6,000 km2 and..